THE  TALES  OF 
MOTHER  GOOSE 


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Perrault 
-  *The  tales  of  Mother  Goose 


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•'She  met  with  Gaffer  Wolf." 


HEATH    SUPPLEMENTARY    READERS 


THE  TALES  OF 
MOTHER  GOOSE 

AS  FIRST  COLLECTED  BY 
CHARLES  PERRAULT  IN  1696 

A  NEW  TRANSLATION  BY  CHARLES  WELSH 

Introduction  by 
M.  V.  O'Shea 

Illustrated  by  D.  J.  Munro 

AFTER    DRAWINGS    BY    GUSTAVE    DORE 


HEATH    AND    COMPANY 


NEW   YORK  CHICAGO 

SAN     FRANCISCO 


Copyright  1901, 

By  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 

Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 

4e5 


CONTENTS 


Introduction  by  Professor  M.  V.  O'Shea 
List  of  Illustrations         .... 


Cinderella,  or  the  Little  Glass  Slipper 


i- 


The  Sleeping  Beauty  in  the  Wood 


Little  Thumb 


The  Master  Cat,  or  Puss  in  Boots 

RlQUET  OF  THE  TUFT     . 

Blue  Beard         . 

The  Fairy 

Little  Red  Riding-hood  \ 
Note • 


PAGE 

vii 
ix 

i 

13 

29 

45 
54 
66 

75 
80 

85 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

*  She  met  with  Gaffer  Wolf"  ....       Frontispiece 

PAGE 

u  It  went  on  very  easily  " II 

"  Let  me  see  if  I  can  do  it " 15 

u  Slipped  in  under  his  father's  seat " 30 

u  The  Marquis  of  Carabas  is  drowning ! "        .        .        .  48 

M I  am  exact  in  keeping  my  word  "  .        .        .        .        .63 

"  If  you  open  it,  there's  nothing  you  may  not  expect  from  my 

anger" 67 

«  With  all  my  heart,  Goody " .        .        .        .        .        .         .75 

"  He  fell  upon  the  good  woman n    ,        ,         •        •        •        .      83 


INTRODUCTION 

What  virtues  do  these  stories  possess  that  have 
kept  them  alive  for  so  long  a  time  ?  They  have 
to  some  degree  stimulated  and  nourished  quali- 
ties of  supreme  worth  in  individual  and  social 
life.  With  the  young  the  struggle  against  greed 
and  falsehood  and  pride  and  cowardice  is  a  very 
real  one,  and  situations  in  which  these  homely, 
fundamental  traits  are  involved  are  full  of  interest 
and  seriousness.  Again,  to  mature  people  the 
reward  of  well-doing  and  the  punishment  of  evil 
conduct  portrayed  in  these  stories  are  apt  to 
seem  too  realistic,  too  much  also  on  the  cut-and- 
dried  pattern ;  but  it  is  far  different  with  children. 
They  have  a  very  concrete  sense  of  right  and 
wrong,  and  they  demand  a  clear,  explicit,  tangi- 
ble outcome  for  every  sort  of  action.  They  must 
have  concrete,  living  examples,  with  the  appro- 
priate outcome  of  each,  set  before  them. 

A  modest,  faithful  child  will  be  strengthened  in 
his  good  qualities;  while  one  lacking  these  will 
have  them  aroused,  to  some  extent  at  any  rate,  by 
following  Cinderella  in  her  career.  Arrogance 
and  selfishness  come  to  unhappy  straits  iri  this 


vin  Introduction 

fancy  world,  and  they  are  likely  to  fare  the  same 
in  the  real  world;  so  it  would  be  better  to  part 
company  with  them,  and  take  up  with  gentleness 
and  kindliness  and  faithfulness  instead.  And 
every  one  may  be  of  some  help  to  others  if  he 
be  only  of  the  right  mind.  The  brother  who 
thought  himself  faring  badly  with  only  a  cat  for 
a  legacy  learns  betimes  that  even  so  small  and 
apparently  helpless  a  creature  may  be  of  much 
service  when  he  is  rightly  disposed.  A  person 
might  think  little  Thumb  could  accomplish  noth- 
ing of  value  to  any  one,  but  he  again  teaches 
the  child  that  all  depends  on  the  willingness  to 
be  of  assistance,  the  good-heartedness,  the  fellow- 
feeling  which  one  has  for  others. 

In  making  this  version  anew  the  translator  has 
endeavored  to  retain  the  characteristics  of  the 
style  of  the  early  chap-book  versions,  while  evad- 
ing the  pompous,  stilted  language  and  Johnsonian 
phraseology  so  fashionable  when  they  were  first 
translated. 

M.  V.  O'SHEA 

University  of  Wisconsin 


The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 


CINDERELLA,    OR    THE    LITTLE    GLASS 
SLIPPER 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  gentleman  who 
married,  for  his  second  wife,  the  proudest  and 
most  haughty  woman  that  ever  was  seen.  She 
had  two  daughters  of  her  own,  who  were,  indeed, 
exactly  like  her  in  all  things.  The  gentleman 
had  also  a  young  daughter,  of  rare  goodness  and 
sweetness  of  temper,  which  she  took  from  her 
mother,  who  was  the  best  creature  in  the  world. 

The  wedding  was  scarcely  over,  when  the  step- 
mother's bad  temper  began  to  show  itself.  She 
could  not  bear  the  goodness  of  this  young  girl,  be- 
cause it  made  her  own  daughters  appear  the  more 
odious.  The  stepmother  gave  her  the  meanest 
work  in  the  house  to  do ;  she  had  to  scour  the 
dishes,  tables,  etc.,  and  to  scrub  the  floors  and 
clean  out  the  bedrooms.  The  poor  girl  had  to 
sleep  in  the  garret,  upon  a  wretched  straw  bed, 
while  her  sisters  lay  in  fine  rooms  with  inlaid 
floors,  upon  beds  of  the  very  newest  fashion,  and 
where  they  had  looking-glasses  so  large  that  they 


2  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

might  see  themselves  at  their  full  length.  The 
poor  girl  bore  all  patiently,  and  dared  not  com- 
plain to  her  father,  who  would  have  scolded  her 
if  she  had  done  so,  for  his  wife  governed  him 
entirely. 

When  she  had  done  her  work,  she  used  to  go 
into  the  chimney  corner,  and  sit  down  among  the 
cinders,  hence  she  was  called  Cinderwench.  The 
younger  sister  of  the  two,  who  was  not  so  rude 
and  uncivil  as  the  elder,  called  her  Cinderella. 
However,  Cinderella,  in  spite  of  her  mean  apparel, 
was  a  hundred  times  more  handsome  than  her 
sisters,  though  they  were  always  richly  dressed. 

It  happened  that  the  King's  son  gave  a  ball, 
and  invited  to  it  all  persons  of  fashion.  Our 
young  misses  were  also  invited,  for  they  cut  a 
very  grand  figure  among  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try-side. They  were  highly  delighted  with  the 
invitation,  and  wonderfully  busy  in  choosing  the 
gowns,  petticoats,  and  head-dresses  which  might 
best  become  them.  This  made  Cinderella's  lot 
still  harder,  for  it  was  she  who  ironed  her  sisters' 
linen  and  plaited  their  ruffles.  They  talked  all 
day  long  of  nothing  but  how  they  should  be 
dressed. 

"  For  my  part,"  said  the  elder,  "  I  will  wear  my 
red  velvet  suit  with  French  trimmings." 

"  And  I,"  said  the  younger,  "  shall  wear  my 
usual  skirt ;  but  then,  to  make  amends  for  that 


Cinderella,  or  the  Little  Glass  Slipper         3 

I  will  put  on  my  gold-flowered  mantle,  and  my 
diamond  stomacher,  which  is  far  from  being  the 
most  ordinary  one  in  the  world."  They  sent  for 
the  best  hairdressers  they  could  get  to  make  up 
their  hair  in  fashionable  style,  and  bought  patches 
for  their  cheeks.  Cinderella  was  consulted  in  all 
these  matters,  for  she  had  good  taste.  She  ad- 
vised them  always  for  the  best,  and  even  offered 
her  services  to  dress  their  hair,  which  they  were 
very  willing  she  should  do. 

As  she  was  doing  this,  they  said  to  her :  — 

"  Cinderella,  would  you  not  be  glad  to  go  to  the 
ball?" 

"  Young  ladies,"  she  said,  "  you  only  jeer  at  me ; 
it  is  not  for  such  as  I  am  to  go  there." 

"You  are  right,"  they  replied;  "people  would 
laugh  to  see  a  Cinderwench  at  a  ball." 

Any  one  but  Cinderella  would  have  dressed 
their  hair  awry,  but  she  was  good-natured,  and 
arranged  it  perfectly  well.  They  were  almost 
two  days  without  eating,  so  much  were  they 
transported  with  joy.  They  broke  above  a  dozen 
laces  in  trying  to  lace  themselves  tight,  that  they 
might  have  a  fine,  slender  shape,  and  they  were 
continually  at  their  looking-glass. 

At  last  the  happy  day  came ;  they  went  to 
Court,  and  Cinderella  followed  them  with  her 
tyes  as  long  as  she  could,  and  when  she  had  lost 
sight  of  them,  she  fell  a-crying. 


4  The  Talcs  of  Mother  Goose 

Her  godmother,  who  saw  her  all  in  tears,  asked 
her  what  was  the  matter. 

"  I  wish  I  could  —  I  wish  I  could  — "  but  she 
could  not  finish  for  sobbing. 

Her  godmother,  who  was  a  fairy,  said  to  her, 
"  You  wish  you  could  go  to  the  ball ;  is  it  not  so  ?  " 

"Alas,  yes,"  said  Cinderella,  sighing. 

"  Well,"  said  her  godmother,  "  be  but  a  good 
girl,  and  I  will  see  that  you  go."  Then  she  took 
her  into  her  chamber,  and  said  to  her,  "  Run  into 
the  garden,  and  bring  me  a  pumpkin." 

Cinderella  went  at  once  to  gather  the  finest  she 
could  get,  and  brought  it  to  her  godmother,  not 
being  able  to  imagine  how  this  pumpkin  could 
help  her  to  go  to  the  ball.  Her  godmother  scooped 
out  all  the  inside  of  it,  leaving  nothing  but  the 
rind.  Then  she  struck  it  with  her  wand,  and  the 
pumpkin  was  instantly  turned  into  a  fine  gilded 
coach. 

She  then  went  to  look  into  the  mouse-trap, 
where  she  found  six  mice,  all  alive.  She  ordered 
Cinderella  to  lift  the  trap-door,  when,  giving  each 
mouse,  as  it  went  out,  a  little  tap  with  her  wand, 
it  was  that  moment  turned  into  a  fine  horse,  and 
the  six  mice  made  a  fine  set  of  six  horses  of  a 
beautiful  mouse-colored,  dapple  gray. 

Being  at  a  loss  for  a  coachman,  Cinderella  said, 
"  I  will  go  and  see  if  there  is  not  a  rat  in  the  rat* 
trap  —  we  may  make  a  coachman  of  him." 


Cinderella,  or  the  Little  Glass  Slipper  5 

"You  are  right,"  replied  her  godmother;  "go 
and  look." 

Cinderella  brought  the  rat-trap  to  her,  and  in 
it  there  were  three  huge  rats.  The  fairy  chose 
the  one  which  had  the  largest  beard,  and,  having 
touched  him  with  her  wand,  he  was  turned  into 
a  fat  coachman  with  the  finest  mustache  and 
whiskers  ever  seen. 

After  that,  she  said  to  her:  — 

"  Go  into  the  garden,  and  you  will  find  six 
lizards  behind  the  watering-pot ;  bring  them  to 
me." 

She  had  no  sooner  done  so  than  her  godmother 
turned  them  into  six  footmen,  who  skipped  up 
immediately  behind  the  coach,  with  their  liveries 
all  trimmed  with  gold  and  silver,  and  thej>  held 
on  as  if  they  had  done  nothing  else  their  whole 
lives. 

The  fairy  then  said  to  Cinderella,  "  Well,  you 
see  here  a  carriage  fit  to  go  to  the  ball  in;  are 
you  not  pleased  with  it  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes !  "  she  cried ;  "  but  must  I  go  as  I  am 
in  these  rags  ? " 

Her  godmother  simply  touched  her  with  her 
wand,  and,  at  the  same  moment,  her  clothes  were 
turned  into  cloth  of  gold  and  silver,  all  decked 
with  jewels.  This  done,  she  gave  her  a  pair  of  the 
prettiest  glass  slippers  in  the  whole  world.  Being 
thus  attired,  she  got  into  the  carriage,  her  god- 


6  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

mother  commanding  her,  above  all  things,  not  to 
stay  till  after  midnight,  and  telling  her,  at  the 
same  time,  that  if  she  stayed  one  moment  longer, 
the  coach  would  be  a  pumpkin  again,  her  horses 
mice,  her  coachman  a  rat,  her  footmen  lizards, 
and  her  clothes  would  become  just  as  they  were 
before. 

She  promised  her  godmother  she  would  not 
fail  to  leave  the  ball  before  midnight  She  drove 
away,  scarce  able  to  contain  herself  for  joy.  The 
King's  son,  who  was  told  that  a  great  princess, 
whom  nobody  knew,  was  come,  ran  out  to  receive 
her.  He  gave  her  his  hand  as  she  alighted  from 
the  coach,  and  led  her  into  the  hall  where  the 
company  were  assembled.  There  was  at  once  a 
profound  silence;  every  one  left  off  dancing,  and 
the  violins  ceased  to  play,  so  attracted  was  every 
one  by  the  singular  beauties  of  the  unknown  new- 
comer. Nothing  was  then  heard  but  a  confused 
sound  of  voices  saying :  — 

"  Ha!  how  beautiful  she  is !  Ha!  how  beauti- 
ful she  is  I" 

The  King  himself,  old  as  he  was,  could  not 
keep  his  eyes  off  her,  and  he  told  the  Queen 
under  his  breath  that  it  was  a  long  time  since  he 
had  seen  so  beautiful  and  lovely  a  creature. 

All  the  ladies  were  busy  studying  her  clothes 
and  head-dress,  so  that  they  might  have  theirs 
made  next  day  after  the  same  pattern,  provided 


Cinderella,  or  the  Little  Glass  Slipper         7 

they  could  meet  with  such  fine  materials  and  able 
hands  to  make  them. 

The  King's  son  conducted  her  to  the  seat  of 
honor,  and  afterwards  took  her  out  to  dance  with 
him.  She  danced  so  very  gracefully  that  they  all 
admired  her  more  and  more.  A  fine  collation 
was  served,  but  the  young  Prince  ate  not  a  mor- 
sel, so  intently  was  he  occupied  with  her. 

She  went  and  sat  down  beside  her  sisters, 
showing  them  a  thousand  civilities,  and  giving 
them  among  other  things  part  of  the  oranges  and 
citrons  with  which  the  Prince  had  regaled  her. 
This  very  much  surprised  them,  for  they  had  not 
been  presented  to  her. 

Cinderella  heard  the  clock  strike  a  quarter  to 
twelve.  She  at  once  made  her  adieus  to  the 
company  and  hastened  away  as  fast  as  she  could. 

As  soon  as  she  got  home,  she  ran  to  find  her 
godmother,  and,  after  having  thanked  her,  she 
said  she  much  wished  she  might  go  to  the  ball 
the  next  day,  because  the  King's  son  had  asked 
her  to  do  so.  As  she  was  eagerly  telling  her 
godmother  all  that  happened  at  the  ball,  her  two 
sisters  knocked  at  the  door;  Cinderella  opened 
it.  "  How  long  you  have  stayed ! "  said  she, 
yawning,  rubbing  her  eyes,  and  stretching  herself 
as  if  she  had  been  just  awakened.  She  had  not, 
however,  had  any  desire  to  sleep  since  they  went 
from  home. 


8  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

"  If  you  had  been  at  the  ball,"  said  one  of  her 
sisters,  "  you  would  not  have  been  tired  with  it. 
There  came  thither  the  finest  princess,  the  most 
beautiful  ever  was  seen  with  mortal  eyes.  She 
showed  us  a  thousand  civilities,  and  gave  us 
oranges  and  citrons." 

Cinderella  did  not  show  any  pleasure  at  this. 
Indeed,  she  asked  them  the  name  of  the  princess ; 
but  they  told  her  they  did  not  know  it,  and  that 
the  King's  son  was  very  much  concerned,  and 
would  give  all  the  world  to  know  who  she  was. 
At  this  Cinderella,  smiling,  replied :  — 

"  Was  she  then  so  very  beautiful  ?  How  fortu- 
nate you  have  been !  Could  I  not  see  her  ?  Ah ! 
dear  Miss  Charlotte,  do  lend  me  your  yellow  suit 
of  clothes  which  you  wear  every  day." 

"  Ay,  to  be  sure !  "  cried  Miss  Charlotte ;  "  lend 
my  clothes  to  such  a  dirty  Cinderwench  as  thou 
art !     I  should  be  out  of  my  mind  to  do  so." 

Cinderella,  indeed,  expected  such  an  answer 
and  was  very  glad  of  the  refusal ;  for  she  would 
have  been  sadly  troubled  if  her  sister  had  lent 
her  what  she  jestingly  asked  for.  The  next  day 
the  two  sisters  went  to  the  ball,  and  so  did  Cin- 
derella, but  dressed  more  magnificently  than  be- 
fore. The  King's  son  was  always  by  her  side, 
and  his  pretty  speeches  to  her  never  ceased. 
These  by  no  means  annoyed  the  young  lady. 
Indeed,  she  quite  forgot  her  godmother's  orders 


Cinderella,  or  the  Little  Glass  Slipper         9 

to  her,  so  that  she  heard  the  clock  begin  to  strike 
twelve  when  she  thought  it  could  not  be  more 
than  eleven.  She  then  rose  up  and  fled,  as 
nimble  as  a  deer.  The  Prince  followed,  but 
could  not  overtake  her.  She  left  behind  one  of 
her  glass  slippers,  which  the  Prince  took  up  most 
carefully.  She  got  home,  but  quite  out  of  breath, 
without  her  carriage,  and  in  her  old  clothes,  hav- 
ing nothing  left  her  of  all  her  finery  but  one  of 
the  little  slippers,  fellow  to  the  one  she  had 
dropped.  The  guards  at  the  palace  gate  were 
asked  if  they  had  not  seen  a  princess  go  out,  and 
they  replied  they  had  seen  nobody  go  out  but  a 
young  girl,  very  meanly  dressed,  and  who  had  more 
the  air  of  a  poor  country  girl  than  of  a  young  lady. 

When  the  two  sisters  returned  from  the  ball, 
Cinderella  asked  them  if  they  had  had  a  pleasant 
time,  and  if  the  fine  lady  had  been  there.  They 
told  her,  yes ;  but  that  she  hurried  away  the  mo- 
ment it  struck  twelve,  and  with  so  much  haste 
that  she  dropped  one  of  her  little  glass  slippers, 
the  prettiest  in  the  world,  which  the  King's  son 
had  taken  up.  They  said,  further,  that  he  had 
done  nothing  but  look  at  her  all  the  time,  and 
that  most  certainly  he  was  very  much  in  love 
with  the  beautiful  owner  of  the  glass  slipper. 

What  they  said  was  true ;  for  a  few  days  after 
the  King's  son  caused  it  to  be  proclaimed,  by 
sound  of  trumpet,  that  he  would  marry  her  whose 


io  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

foot  this  slipper  would  fit  exactly.  They  began 
to  try  it  on  the  princesses,  then  on  the  duchesses, 
and  then  on  all  the  ladies  of  the  Court ;  but  in 
vain.  It  was  brought  to  the  two  sisters,  who 
did  all  they  possibly  could  to  thrust  a  foot  into 
the  slipper,  but  they  could  not  succeed.  Cin- 
derella, who  saw  this,  and  knew  her  slipper,  said 
to  them,  laughing :  — 

"  Let  me  see  if  it  will  not  fit  me." 

Her  sisters  burst  out  a-laughing,  and  began  to 
banter  her.  The  gentleman  who  was  sent  to  try 
the  slipper  looked  earnestly  at  Cinderella,  and, 
finding  her  very  handsome,  said  it  was  but  just 
that  she  should  try,  and  that  he  had  orders  to  let 
every  lady  try  it  on. 

He  obliged  Cinderella  to  sit  down,  and,  putting 
the  slipper  to  her  little  foot,  he  found  it  went  on 
very  easily,  and  fitted  her  as  if  it  had  been  made 
of  wax.  The  astonishment  of  her  two  sisters  was 
great,  but  it  was  still  greater  when  Cinderella 
pulled  out  of  her  pocket  the  other  slipper  and 
put  it  on  her  foot.  Thereupon,  in  came  her 
godmother,  who,  having  touched  Cinderella's 
clothes  with  her  wand,  made  them  more  mag- 
nificent than  those  she  had  worn  before. 

And  now  her  two  sisters  found  her  to  be  that 
beautiful  lady  they  had  seen  at  the  ball.  They 
threw  themselves  at  her  feet  to  beg  pardon  for 
all  their  ill   treatment  of   her.      Cinderella  took 


"It  went  on  very  easily." 
II 


II  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goote 

them  up,  and,  as  she  embraced  them,  said  that  she 
forgave  them  with  all  her  heart,  and  begged  them 
to  love  her  always. 

She  was  conducted  to  the  young  Prince,  dressed 
as  she  was.  He  thought  her  more  charming,  than 
ever,  and,  a  few  days  after,  married  her.  Cinder- 
ella, who  was  as  good  as  she  was  beautiful,  gave 
her  two  sisters  a  home  in  the  palace,  and  that  very 
same  day  married  them  to  two  great  lords  o£  the 
Court 


THE  SLEEPING   BEAUTY  IN  THE  WOODS 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  king  and  a  queen, 
who  were  very  sorry  that  they  had  no  children,  — 
so  sorry  that  it  cannot  be  told. 

At  last,  however,  the  Queen  had  a  daughter. 
There  was  a  very  fine  christening;  and  the 
Princess  had  for  her  godmothers  all  the  fairies 
they  could  find  in  the  whole  kingdom  (there  were 
seven  of  them),  so  that  every  one  of  them  might 
confer  a  gift  upon  her,  as  was  the  custom  of  fairies 
in  those  days.  By  this  means  the  Princess  had 
all  the  perfections  imaginable. 

After  the  christening  was  over,  the  company 
returned  to  the  King's  palace,  where  was  pre- 
pared a  great  feast  for  the  fairies.  There  was 
placed  before  every  one  of  them  a  magnificent 
cover  with  a  case  of  massive  gold,  wherein  were 
a  spoon,  and  a  knife  and  fork,  all  of  pure  gold  set 
with  diamonds  and  rubies.  But  as  they  were  all 
sitting  down  at  table  they  saw  a  very  old  fairy 
come  into  the  hall.  She  had  not  been  invited, 
because  for  more  than  fifty  years  she  had  not 
been  out  of  a  certain  tower,  and  she  was  believed 
to  be  either  dead  or  enchanted. 

"J 


14  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

The  King  ordered  her  a  cover,  but  he  could 
not  give  her  a  case  of  gold  as  the  others  had, 
because  seven  only  had  been  made  for  the  seven 
fairies.  The  old  fairy  fancied  she  was  slighted,  and 
muttered  threats  between  her  teeth.  One  of  the 
young  fairies  who  sat  near  heard  her,  and,  judging 
that  she  might  give  the  little  Princess  some 
unlucky  gift,  hid  herself  behind  the  curtains  as 
soon  as  they  left  the  table.  She  hoped  that  she 
might  speak  last  and  undo  as  much  as  she  could 
the  evil  which  the  old  fairy  might  do. 

In  the  meanwhile  all  the  fairies  began  to  give 
their  gifts  to  the  Princess.  The  youngest  gave 
her  for  her  gift  that  she  should  be  the  most 
beautiful  person  in  the  world ;  the  next,  that  she 
should  have  the  wit  of  an  angel ;  the  third,  that 
she  should  be  able  to  do  everything  she  did 
gracefully ;  the  fourth,  that  she  should  dance 
perfectly ;  the  fifth,  that  she  should  sing  like  a 
nightingale ;  and  the  sixth,  that  she  should  play 
all  kinds  of  musical  instruments  to  the  fullest 
perfection. 

The  old  fairy's  turn  coming  next,  her  head 
shaking  more  with  spite  than  with  age,  she  said 
that  the  Princess  should  pierce  her  hand  with  a 
spindle  and  die  of  the  wound.  This  terrible  gift 
made  the  whole  company  tremble,  and  every- 
body fell  a-crying. 

At  this  very  instant  the  young  fairy  came  from 


The  Sleeping  Beauty  in  the  Woods         15 

behind  the  curtains  and  said  these  words  in  a  loud 
voice :  — 

u  Assure  yourselves,  O  King  and  Queen,  that 
your  daughter  shall  not  die  of  this  disaster.  It 
is  true,  I  have  no  power  to  undo  entirely  what 
my  elder  has  done.  The  Princess  shall  indeed 
pierce  her  hand  with  a  spindle ;  but,  instead  of 
dying,  she  shall  only  fall  into  a  deep  sleep,  which 
shall  last  a  hundred  years,  at  the  end  of  which 
a  king's  son  shall  come  and  awake  her." 

The  King,  to  avoid  the  misfortune  foretold  by 
the  old  fairy,  issued  orders  forbidding  any  one,  on 
pain  of  death,  to  spin  with  a  distaff  and  spindle, 
or  to  have  a  spindle  in  his  house.  About  fifteen 
or  sixteen  years  after,  the  King  and  Queen  being 
absent  at  one  of  their  country  villas,  the  young 
Princess  was  one  day  running  up  and  down  the 
palace ;  she  went  from  room  to  room,  and  at  last 
she  came  into  a  little  garret  on  the  top  of  the 
tower,  where  a  good  old  woman,  alone,  was  spin- 
ning with  her  spindle.  This  good  woman  had 
never  heard  of  the  King's  orders  against  spindles. 

"  What  are  you  doing  there,  my  good  woman  ?  " 
said  the  Princess. 

"I  am  spinning,  my  pretty  child,"  said  the  old 
woman,  who  did  not  know  who  the  Princess  was. 

"  Ha!"  said  the  Princess,  "this  is  very  pretty; 
how  do  you  do  it  ?  Give  it  to  me.  Let  me  see 
if  I  can  do  it" 


1 6  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

She  had  no  sooner  taken  it  into  her  hand  than, 
either  because  she  was  too  quick  and  heedless,  or 
because  the  decree  of  the  fairy  had  so  ordained, 
it  ran  into  her  hand,  and  she  fell  down  in  a 
swoon. 

The  good  old  woman,  not  knowing  what  to  do, 
cried  out  for  help.  People  came  in  from  every 
quarter;  they  threw  water  upon  the  face  of  the 
Princess,  unlaced  her,  struck  her  on  the  palms  of 
her  hands,  and  rubbed  her  temples  with  cologne 
water ;  but  nothing  would  bring  her  to  herself. 

Then  the  King,  who  came  up  at  hearing  the  noise, 
remembered  what  the  fairies  had  foretold.  He 
knew  very  well  that  this  must  come  to  pass,  since 
the  fairies  had  foretold  it,  and  he  caused  the  Prin- 
cess to  be  carried  into  the  finest  room  in  his  pal- 
ace, and  to  be  laid  upon  a  bed  all  embroidered 
with  gold  and  silver.  One  would  have  taken  her 
for  a  little  angel,  she  was  so  beautiful;  for  her 
swooning  had  not  dimmed  the  brightness  of 
her  complexion :  her  cheeks  were  carnation,  and 
her  lips  coral.  It  is  true  her  eyes  were  shut,  but 
she  was  heard  to  breathe  softly,  which  satisfied 
those  about  her  that  she  was  not  dead. 

The  King  gave  orders  that  they  should  let  her 
sleep  quietly  till  the  time  came  for  her  to  awake. 
The  good  fairy  who  had  saved  her  life  by  con- 
demning her  to  sleep  a  hundred  years  was  in  the 
kingdom  of  Matakin,  twelve  thousand  leagues  off, 


'Lit  mk  see  if  I  can  do  it." 
«7 


1 8  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

when  this  accident  befell  the  Princess;  but  she 
was  instantly  informed  of  it  by  a  little  dwarf,  who 
had  seven-leagued  boots,  that  is,  boots  with  which 
he  could  stride  over  seven  leagues  of  ground  at 
once.  The  fairy  started  off  at  once,  and  arrived, 
about  an  hour  later,  in  a  fiery  chariot  drawn  by 
dragons. 

The  King  handed  her  out  of  the  chariot,  and 
she  approved  everything  he  had  done ;  but  as  she 
had  very  great  foresight,  she  thought  that  when 
the  Princess  should  awake  she  might  not  know 
what  to  do  with  herself,  if  she  was  all  alone  in 
this  old  palace.  This  was  what  she  did:  she 
touched  with  her  wand  everything  in  the  palace 
(except  the  King  and  Queen), — governesses,  maids 
of  honor,  ladies  of  the  bedchamber,  gentlemen,  offi- 
cers, stewards,  cooks,  undercooks,  kitchen  maids, 
guards  with  their  porters,  pages,  and  footmen ;  she 
likewise  touched  all  the  horses  which  were  in  the 
stables,  the  cart  horses,  the  hunters  and  the  saddle 
horses,  the  grooms,  the  great  dogs  in  the  outward 
court,  and  little  Mopsey,  too,  the  Princess's 
spaniel,  which  was  lying  on  the  bed. 

As  soon  as  she  touched  them  they  all  fell 
asleep,  not  to  awake  again  until  their  mistress 
did,  that  they  might  be  ready  to  wait  upon  her 
when  she  wanted  them.  The  very  spits  at  the 
fire,  as  full  as  they  could,  hold  of  partridges  and 
pheasants,  fell  asleep,  and  the  fire  itself  as  well. 


The  Sleeping  Beauty  in  the  Woods         19 

All  this  was  done  in  a  moment.  Fairies  are  not 
long  in  doing  their  work. 

And  now  the  King  and  Queen,  having  kissed 
their  dear  child  without  waking  her,  went  out 
of  the  palace  and  sent  forth  orders  that  nobody 
should  come  near  it. 

These  orders  were  not  necessary;  for  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour's  time  there  grew  up  all  round 
about  the  park  such  a  vast  number  of  trees,  great 
and  small,  bushes  and  brambles,  twining  one 
within  another,  that  neither  man  nor  beast  could 
pass  through ;  so  that  nothing  could  be  seen  but 
the  very  top  of  the  towers  of  the  palace ;  and  that, 
too,  only  from  afar  off.  Every  one  knew  that  this 
also  was  the  work  of  the  fairy  in  order  that  while 
the  Princess  slept  she  should  have  nothing  to  fear 
from  curious  people. 

After  a  hundred  years  the  son  of  the  King  then 
reigning,  who  was  of  another  family  from  that  of 
the  sleeping  Princess,  was  a-hunting  on  that  side 
of  the  country,  and  he  asked  what  those  towers 
were  which  he  saw  in  the  middle  of  a  great  thick 
wood.  Every  one  answered  according  as  they 
had  heard.  Some  said  that  it  was  an  old  haunted 
castle,  others  that  all  the  witches  of  the  country 
held  their  midnight  revels  there,  but  the  common 
opinion  was  that  it  was  an  ogre's  dwelling,  and 
that  he  carried  to  it  all  the  little  children  he  could 
catch,  so  as  to  eat  them  up  at  his  leisure,  without 


ao  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

any  one  being  able  to  follow  him,  for  he  alone  had 
the  power  to  make  his  way  through  the  wood. 

The  Prince  did  not  know  what  to  believe,  and 
presently  a  very  aged  countryman  spake  to  him 
thus :  — 

"  May  it  please  your  royal  Highness,  more  than 
fifty  years  since  I  heard  from  my  father  that  there 
was  then  in  this  castle  the  most  beautiful  princess 
that  was  ever  seen;  that  she  must  sleep  there 
a  hundred  years,  and  that  she  should  be  waked 
by  a  king's  son,  for  whom  she  was  reserved." 

The  young  Prince  on  hearing  this  was  all  on 
fire.  He  thought,  without  weighing  the  matter, 
that  he  could  put  an  end  to  this  rare  adventure  ; 
and,  pushed  on  by  love  and  the  desire  of  glory, 
resolved  at  once  to  look  into  it. 

As  soon  as  he  began  to  get  near  to  the  wood, 
all  the  great  trees,  the  bushes,  and  brambles  gave 
way  of  themselves  to  let  him  pass  through.  He 
walked  up  to  the  castle  which  he  saw  at  the  end 
of  a  large  avenue;  and  you  can  imagine  he  was  a 
good  deal  surprised  when  he  saw  none  of  his  peo- 
ple following  him,  because  the  trees  closed  again 
as  soon  as  he  had  passed  through  them.  How- 
ever, he  did  not  cease  from  continuing  his  way;  a 
young  prince  in  search  of  glory  is  ever  valiant. 

He  came  into  a  spacious  outer  court,  and  what 
he  saw  was  enough  to  freeze  him  with  horror. 
A  frightful  silence  reigned  over  all;  the  image  of 


The  Sleeping  Beauty  in  the  Woods         it 

death  was  everywhere,  and  there  was  nothing  to 
be  seen  but  what  seemed  to  be  the  outstretched 
bodies  of  dead  men  and  animals.  He,  however, 
very  well  knew,  by  the  ruby  faces  and  pimpled 
noses  of  the  porters,  that  they  were  only  asleep; 
and  their  goblets,  wherein  still  remained  some 
drops  of  wine,  showed  plainly  that  they  had 
fallen  asleep  while  drinking  their  wine. 

He  then  crossed  a  court  paved  with  marble, 
went  up  the  stairs,  and  came  into  the  guard 
chamber,  where  guards  were  standing  in  their 
ranks,  with  their  muskets  upon  their  shoulders, 
and  snoring  with  all  their  might.  He  went 
through  several  rooms  full  of  gentlemen  and 
ladies,  some  standing  and  others  sitting,  but  all 
were  asleep.  He  came  into  a  gilded  chamber, 
where  he  saw  upon  a  bed,  the  curtains  of  which 
were  all  open,  the  most  beautiful  sight  ever  be- 
held—  a  princess  who  appeared  to  be  about 
fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  whose  bright 
and  resplendent  beauty  had  something  divine  in 
it.  He  approached  with  trembling  and  admira- 
tion, and  fell  down  upon  his  knees  before  her. 

Then,  as  the  end  of  the  enchantment  was 
come,  the  Princess  awoke,  and  looking  on  him 
with  eyes  more  tender  than  could  have  been 
expected  at  first  sight,  said :  — 

"  Is  it  you,  my  Prince  ?  You  have  waited  a 
long  while," 


22  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

The  Prince,  charmed  with  these  words,  and  much 
more  with  the  manner  in  which  they  were  spoken, 
knew  not  how  to  show  his  joy  and  gratitude ;  he 
assured  her  that  he  loved  her  better  than  he  did 
himself.  Their  discourse  was  not  very  connected, 
but  they  were  the  better  pleased,  for  where  there 
is  much  love  there  is  little  eloquence.  He  was 
more  at  a  loss  than  she,  and  we  need  not  wonder 
at  it ;  she  had  had  time  to  think  of  what  to  say  to 
him ;  for  it  is  evident  (though  history  says  nothing 
of  it)  that  the  good  fairy,  during  so  long  a  sleep, 
had  given  her  very  pleasant  dreams.  In  short, 
they  talked  together  for  four  hours,  and  then  they 
said  not  half  they  had  to  say. 

In  the  meanwhile  all  the  palace  had  woke  up 
with  the  Princess ;  every  one  thought  upon  his 
own  business,  and  as  they  were  not  in  love,  they 
were  ready  to  die  of  hunger.  The  lady  of  honor, 
being  as  sharp  set  as  the  other  folks,  grew  very 
impatient,  and  told  the  Princess  aloud  that  the 
meal  was  served.  The  Prince  helped  the  Prin- 
cess to  rise.  She  was  entirely  and  very  magnifi- 
cently dressed ;  but  his  royal  Highness  took  care 
not  to  tell  her  that  she  was  dressed  like  his  great- 
grandmother,  and  had  a  high  collar.  She  looked 
not  a  bit  the  less  charming  and  beautiful  for  all  that. 

They  went  into  the  great  mirrored  hall,  where 
they  supped,  and  were  served  by  the  officers  of 
the  Princess's  household.     The  violins  and  haut- 


The  Sleeping  Beauty  in  the  Woods         23 

boys  played  old  tunes,  but  they  were  excellent, 
though  they  had  not  been  played  for  a  hundred 
years ;  and  after  supper,  without  losing  any  time, 
the  lord  almoner  married  them  in  the  chapel  of 
the  castle.  They  had  but  very  little  sleep  —  the 
Princess  scarcely  needed  any ;  and  the  Prince 
left  her  next  morning  to  return  into  the  city, 
where  his  father  was  greatly  troubled  about  him. 

The  Prince  told  him  that  he  lost  his  way  in 
the  forest  as  he  was  hunting,  and  that  he  had 
slept  in  the  cottage  of  a  charcoal-burner,  who 
gave  him  cheese  and  brown  bread. 

The  King,  his  father,  who  was  a  good  man, 
believed  him ;  but  his  mother  could  not  be  per- 
suaded that  it  was  true ;  and  seeing  that  he  went 
almost  every  day  a-hunting,  and  that  he  always  had 
some  excuse  ready  for  so  doing,  though  he  had 
been  out  three  or  four  nights  together,  she  began 
to  suspect  that  he  was  married ;  for  he  lived  thus 
with  the  Princess  above  two  whole  years,  during 
which  they  had  two  children,  the  elder,  a  daughter, 
was  named  Dawn,  and  the  younger,  a  son,  they 
called  Day,  because  he  was  a  great  deal  handsomer 
than  his  sister. 

The  Queen  spoke  several  times  to  her  son,  to 
learn  after  what  manner  he  was  passing  his  time, 
and  told  him  that  in  this  he  ought  in  duty  to  sat- 
isfy her.  But  he  never  dared  to  trust  her  with 
his  secret ;  he  feared  her,  though  he  loved  her, 


14  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

for  she  was  of  the  race  of  the  Ogres,  and  the 
King  married  her  for  her  vast  riches  alone.  It 
was  even  whispered  about  the  Court  that  she  had 
Ogreish  inclinations,  and  that,  whenever  she  saw 
little  children  passing  by,  she  had  all  the  difficulty 
in  the  world  to  prevent  herself  from  falling  upon 
them.  And  so  the  Prince  would  never  tell  her 
one  word. 

But  when  the  King  was  dead,  which  happened 
about  two  years  afterward,  and  he  saw  himself 
lord  and  master,  he  openly  declared  his  marriage ; 
and  he  went  in  great  state  to  conduct  his  Queen 
to  the  palace.  They  made  a  magnificent  entry 
into  the  capital  city,  she  riding  between  her  two 
children. 

Soon  after,  the  King  made  war  on  Emperor 
Cantalabutte,  his  neighbor.  He  left  the  govern- 
ment of  the  kingdom  to  the  Queen,  his  mother, 
and  earnestly  commended  his  wife  and  children 
to  her  care.  He  was  obliged  to  carry  on  the  war 
all  the  summer,  and  as  soon  as  he  left,  the  Queen- 
mother  sent  her  daughter-in-law  and  her  children 
to  a  country  house  among  the  woods,  that  she 
might  with  the  more  ease  gratify  her  horrible 
longing.  Some  few  days  afterward  she  went 
thither  herself,  and  said  to  her  head  cook:— 

"I  intend  to  eat  little  Dawn  for  my  dinner 
to-morrow." 

"  O !  madam ! "  cried  the  head  cook. 


The  Sleeping  Beauty  in  the  Woods  25 

u  I  will  have  it  so,"  replied  the  Queen  (and  this 
she  spoke  in  the  tone  of  an  Ogress  who  had  a 
strong  desire  to  eat  fresh  meat),  "  and  will  eat  her 
with  a  sharp  sauce." 

The  poor  man,  knowing  very  well  that  he  must 
not  play  tricks  with  Ogresses,  took  his  great  knife 
and  went  up  into  little  Dawn's  chamber.  She  was 
then  nearly  four  years  old,  and  came  up  to  him, 
jumping  and  laughing,  to  put  her  arms  round  his 
neck,  and  ask  him  for  some  sugar-candy.  Upon 
which  he  began  to  weep,  the  great  knife  fell  out 
of  his  hand,  and  he  went  into  the  back  yard  and 
killed  a  little  lamb,  and  dressed  it  with  such  good 
sauce  that  his  mistress  assured  him  she  had  never 
eaten  anything  so  good  in  her  life.  He  had  at 
the  same  time  taken  up  little  Dawn  and  carried 
her  to  his  wife,  to  conceal  her  in  his  lodging  at 
the  end  of  the  courtyard. 

Eight  days  afterwards  the  wicked  Queen  said 
to  the  chief  cook,  "  I  will  sup  upon  little  Day." 

He  answered  not  a  word,  being  resolved  to  cheat 
her  again  as  he  had  done  before.  He  went  to 
Find  little  Day,  and  saw  him  with  a  foil  in  his 
aand,  with  which  he  was  fencing  with  a  great 
monkey:  the  child  was  then  only  three  years  of 
age.  He  took  him  up  in  his  arms  and  carried 
him  to  his  wife,  that  she  might  conceal  him  in 
her  chamber  along  with  his  sister,  and  instead 
of  little  Day  he  served   up   a  young  and   very 


0.6  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

tender  kid,  which  the  Ogress  found  to  be  wonder- 
fully good. 

All  had  gone  well  up  to  now ;  but  one  evening 
this  wicked  Queen  said  to  her  chief  cook  :  — 

"  I  will  eat  the  Queen  with  the  same  sauce  I 
had  with  her  children." 

Now  the  poor  chief  cook  was  in  despair  and 
could  not  imagine  how  to  deceive  her  again. 
The  young  Queen  was  over  twenty  years  old, 
not  reckoning  the  hundred  years  she  had  been 
asleep;  and  how  to  find  something  to  take  her 
place  greatly  puzzled  him.  He  then  decided,  to 
save  his  own  life,  to  cut  the  Queen's  throat;  and 
going  up  into  her  chamber,  with  intent  to  do  it 
at  once,  he  put  himself  into  as  great  fury  as  he 
possibly  could,  and  came  into  the  young  Queen's 
room  with  his  dagger  in  his  hand.  He  would 
not,  however,  deceive  her,  but  told  her,  with  a 
great  deal  of  respect,  the  orders  he  had  received 
from  the  Queen-mother. 

"Do  it;  do  it,"  she  said,  stretching  out  her 
neck.  "Carry  out  your  orders,  and  then  I  shall 
go  and  see  my  children,  my  poor  children,  whom 
I  loved  so  much  and  so  tenderly." 

For  she  thought  them  dead,  since  they  had 
been  taken  away  without  her  knowledge. 

"No,  no,  madam,"  cried  the  poor  chief  cook, 
all  in  tears;  "you  shall  not  die,  and  you  shall  see 
your  children  again  at  once.     But  then  you  must 


The  Sleeping  Beauty  in  the  Woods         17 

go  home  with  me  to  my  lodgings,  where  I  have 
concealed  them,  and  I  will  deceive  the  Queen 
once  more,  by  giving  her  a  young  hind  in  your 
stead." 

Upon  this  he  forthwith  conducted  her  to  his 
room,  where,  leaving  her  to  embrace  her  children, 
and  cry  along  with  them,  he  went  and  dressed  a 
young  hind,  which  the  Queen  had  for  her  supper, 
and  devoured  with  as  much  appetite  as  if  it  had 
been  the  young  Queen.  She  was  now  well  satis- 
fied with  her  cruel  deeds,  and  she  invented  a  story 
to  tell  the  King  on  his  return,  of  how  the  Queen 
his  wife  and  her  two  children  had  been  devoured 
by  mad  wolves. 

One  evening,  as  she  was,  according  to  her 
custom,  rambling  round  about  the  courts  and 
yards  of  the  palace  to  see  if  she  could  smell  any 
fresh  meat,  she  heard,  in  a  room  on  the  ground 
floor,  little  Day  crying,  for  his  mamma  was  going 
to  whip  him,  because  he  had  been  naughty;  and 
she  heard,  at  the  same  time,  little  Dawn  begging 
mercy  for  her  brother. 

The  Ogress  knew  the  voice  of  the  Queen  and 
her  children  at  once,  and  being  furious  at  having 
been  thus  deceived,  she  gave  orders  (in  a  most 
horrible  voice  which  made  everybody  tremble) 
that,  next  morning  by  break  of  day,  they  should 
bring  into  the  middle  of  the  great  court  a  large 
tub  filled  with  toads,  vipers,  snakes,  and  all  sorts 


ft  8  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

of  serpents,  in  order  to  have  the  Queen  and  her 
children,  the  chief  cook,  his  wife  and  maid,  thrown 
into  it,  all  of  whom  were  to  be  brought  thither 
with  their  hands  tied  behind  them. 

They  were  brought  out  accordingly,  and  the 
executioners  were  just  going  to  throw  them  into 
the  tub,  when  the  King,  who  was  not  so  soon  ex- 
pected, entered  the  court  on  horseback  and  asked, 
with  the  utmost  astonishment,  what  was  the 
meaning  of  that  horrible  spectacle. 

No  one  dared  to  tell  him,  when  the  Ogress, 
all  enraged  to  see  what  had  happened,  threw 
herself  head  foremost  into  the  tub,  and  was  in- 
stantly devoured  by  the  ugly  creatures  she  had 
ordered  to  be  thrown  into  it  to  kill  the  others. 
The  King  was  of  course  very  sorry,  for  she  was 
his  mother ;  but  he  soon  comforted  himself  with 
his  beautiful  wife  and  his  pretty  children. 


LITTLE  THUMB 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  fagot-maker 
and  his  wife,  who  had  seven  children,  all  boys. 
The  eldest  was  but  ten  years  old,  and  the  young- 
est only  seven. 

They  were  very  poor,  and  their  seven  children 
were  a  great  source  of  trouble  to  them  because 
not  one  of  them  was  able  to  earn  his  bread. 
What  gave  them  yet  more  uneasiness  was  that 
the  youngest  was  very  delicate,  and  scarce  ever 
spoke  a  word,  which  made  people  take  for  stu- 
pidity that  which  was  a  sign  of  good  sense.  He 
was  very  little,  and  when  born  he  was  no  bigger 
than  one's  thumb;  hence  he  was  called  Little 
Thumb. 

The  poor  child  was  the  drudge  of  the  house- 
hold, and  was  always  in  the  wrong.  He  was, 
however,  the  most  bright  and  discreet  of  all  the 
brothers;  and  if  he  spoke  little,  he  heard  and 
thought  the  more. 

There  came  a  very  bad  year,  and  the  famine 
was  so  great  that  these  poor  people  resolved  to 
rid  themselves  of  their  children.  One  evening, 
when  they  were  in  bed,  and  the  fagot-maker  was 


30  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

sitting  with  his  wife  at  the  fire,  he  said  to  her, 
with  his  heart  ready  to  burst  with  grief :  — 

"  You  see  plainly  that  we  no  longer  can  give 
our  children  food,  and  I  cannot  bear  to  see  them 
die  of  hunger  before  my  eyes ;  I  am  resolved  to 
lose  them  in  the  wood  to-morrow,  which  may  very 
easily  be  done,  for,  while  they  amuse  themselves 
in  tying  up  fagots,  we  have  only  to  run  away 
and  leave  them  without  their  seeing  us." 

"  Ah ! "  cried  out  his  wife,  "  could  you  really 
take  the  children  and  lose  them  ?  " 

In  vain  did  her  husband  represent  to  her  their 
great  poverty  ;  she  would  not  consent  to  it.  She 
was  poor,  but  she  was  their  mother. 

However,  having  considered  what  a  grief  it 
would  be  to  her  to  see  them  die  of  hunger,  she 
consented,  and  went  weeping  to  bed. 

Little  Thumb  heard  all  they  had  said ;  for, 
hearing  that  they  were  talking  business,  he  got 
up  softly  and  slipped  under  his  father's  seat,  so  as 
to  hear  without  being  seen.  He  went  to  bed 
again,  but  did  not  sleep  a  wink  all  the  rest  of  the 
night,  thinking  of  what  he  had  to  do.  He  got  up 
early  in  the  morning,  and  went  to  the  brookside, 
where  he  filled  his  pockets  full  of  small  white 
pebbles,  and  then  returned  home.  They  all  went 
out,  but  Little  Thumb  never  told  his  brothers  a 
word  of  what  he  knew. 

They  went  into  a  very  thick  forest,  where  they 


"Slipped  under  his  Father's  Seat." 
31 


32  The  Talcs  of  Mother  Goose 

could  not  see  one  another  at  ten  paces  apart 
The  fagot-maker  began  to  cut  wood,  and  the  chil- 
dren to  gather  up  sticks  to  make  fagots.  Their 
father  and  mother,  seeing  them  busy  at  their 
work,  got  away  from  them  unbeknown  and  then 
all  at  once  ran  as  fast  as  they  could  through  a 
winding  by-path. 

When  the  children  found  they  were  alone,  they 
began  to  cry  with  all  their  might.  Little  Thumb 
let  them  cry  on,  knowing  very  well  how  to  get 
home  again;  for,  as  he  came,  he  had  dropped 
the  little  white  pebbles  he  had  in  his  pockets  all 
along  the  way.  Then  he  said  to  them,  "  Do  not 
be  afraid,  my  brothers,  —  father  and  mother  have 
left  us  here,  but  I  will  lead  you  home  again ;  only 
follow  me." 

They  followed,  and  he  brought  them  home  by 
the  very  same  way  they  had  come  into  the  forest. 
They  dared  not  go  in  at  first,  but  stood  outside 
the  door  to  listen  to  what  their  father  and  mother 
were  saying. 

The  very  moment  the  fagot-maker  and  his  wife 
reached  home  the  lord  of  the  manor  sent  them 
ten  crowns,  which  he  had  long  owed  them,  and 
which  they  never  hoped  to  see.  This  gave  them 
new  life,  for  the  poor  people  were  dying  of 
hunger.  The  fagot-maker  sent  his  wife  to  the 
butcher's  at  once.  As  it  was  a  long  while  since 
they  had  eaten,  she  bought  thrice  as  much  meat 


Little  Thumb  3j 

as  was  needed  for  supper  for  two  people.  When 
they  had  eaten,  the  woman  said :  — 

"Alas!  where  are  our  poor  children  now? 
They  would  make  a  good  feast  of  what  we  have 
left  here ;  it  was  you,  William,  who  wished  to 
lose  them.  I  told  you  we  should  repent  of  it. 
What  are  they  now  doing  in  the  forest  ?  Alas ! 
perhaps  the  wolves  have  already  eaten  them  up ; 
you  are  very  inhuman  thus  to  have  lost  your 
children." 

The  fagot-maker  grew  at  last  quite  out  of  pa- 
tience, for  she  repeated  twenty  times  that  he 
would  repent  of  it,  and  that  she  was  in  the  right. 
He  threatened  to  beat  her  if  she  did  not  hold  her 
tongue.  The  fagot-maker  was,  perhaps,  more 
sorry  than  his  wife,  but  she  teased  him  so  he 
could  not  endure  it.    She  wept  bitterly,  saying :  — 

41  Alas  I  where  are  my  children  now,  my  poor 
children?" 

She  said  this  once  so  very  loud  that  the  chil- 
dren, who  were  at  the  door,  heard  her  and  cried 
out  all  together :  — 

"  Here  we  are !     Here  we  are  ! " 

She  ran  immediately  to  let  them  in,  and  said  as 
she  embraced  them :  — 

"  How  happy  I  am  to  see  you  again,  my  dear 
children ;  you  are  very  tired  and  very  hungry,  and, 
my  poor  Peter,  you  are  covered  with  mud.  Come 
in  and  let  me  clean  you." 

D 


34  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

Peter  was  her  eldest  son,  whom  she  loved  more 
than  all  the  rest,  because  he  was  red  haired,  as 
she  was  herself. 

They  sat  down  to  table,  and  ate  with  an  appe- 
tite which  pleased  both  father  and  mother,  to 
whom  they  told  how  frightened  they  were  in  the 
forest,  nearly  all  speaking  at  once.  The  good 
folk  were  delighted  to  see  their  children  once 
more,  and  this  joy  continued  while  the  ten  crowns 
lasted.  But  when  the  money  was  all  spent,  they 
fell  again  into  their  former  uneasiness,  and  re- 
solved to  lose  their  children  again.  And,  that 
they  might  be  the  surer  of  doing  it,  they  deter- 
mined to  take  them  much  farther  than  before. 

They  could  not  talk  of  this  so  secretly  but  they 
were  overheard  by  Little  Thumb,  who  laid  his 
plans  to  get  out  of  the  difficulty  as  he  had  done 
before;  but,  though  he  got  up  very  early  to  go 
and  pick  up  some  little  pebbles,  he  could  not,  for 
he  found  the  house-door  double-locked.  He  did 
not  know  what  to  do.  Their  father  had  given 
each  of  them  a  piece  of  bread  for  their  breakfast. 
He  reflected  that  he  might  make  use  of  the  bread 
instead  of  the  pebbles,  by  throwing  crumbs  all 
along  the  way  they  should  pass,  and  so  he  stuffed 
it  in  his  pocket.  Their  father  and  mother  led 
them  into  the  thickest  and  most  obscure  part  of 
the  forest,  and  then,  stealing  away  into  a  by-path, 
left  them   there.      Little    Thumb  was  not  very 


Little  Thumb  35 

much  worried  about  it,  for  he  thought  he  could 
easily  find  the  way  again  by  means  of  his  bread, 
which  he  had  scattered  all  along  as  he  came ;  but 
he  was  very  much  surprised  when  he  could  not 
find  a  single  crumb:  the  birds  had  come  and 
eaten  them  all. 

They  were  now  in  great  trouble ;  for  the  more 
they  wandered,  the  deeper  they  went  into  the 
forest.  Night  now  fell,  and  there  arose  a  high 
wind,  which  filled  them  with  fear.  They  fancied 
they  heard  on  every  side  the  howling  of  wolves 
coming  to  devour  them.  They  scarce  dared  to 
speak  or  turn  their  heads.  Then  it  rained  very 
hard,  which  wetted  them  to  the  skin.  Their  feet 
slipped  at  every  step,  and  they  fell  into  the  mud, 
covering  their  hands  with  it  so  that  they  knew 
not  what  to  do  with  them. 

Little  Thumb  climbed  up  to  the  top  of  a  tree, 
to  see  if  he  could  discover  anything.  Looking  on 
every  side,  he  saw  at  last  a  glimmering  light,  like 
that  of  a  candle,  but  a  long  way  beyond  the  forest. 
He  came  down,  and,  when  upon  the  ground,  he 
he  could  see  it  no  more,  which  grieved  him  sadly. 
However,  having  walked  for  some  time  with  his 
brothers  toward  that  side  on  which  he  had  seen 
the  light,  he  discovered  it  again  as  he  came  out 
of  the  wood. 

They  arrived  at  last  at  the  house  where  this 
candle  was,  not  without  many  frights;  for  very 


36  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

often  they  lost  sight  of  it,  which  happened  every 
time  they  came  into  a  hollow.  They  knocked  at 
the  door,  and  a  good  woman  came  and  opened  it. 

She  asked  them  what  they  wanted.  Little 
Thumb  told  her  they  were  poor  children  who 
were  lost  in  the  forest,  and  desired  to  lodge  there 
for  charity's  sake.  The  woman,  seeing  them  all 
so  very  pretty,  began  to  weep  and  said  to  them : 
"  Alas !  poor  babies,  where  do  you  come  from  ? 
Do  you  know  that  this  house  belongs  to  a  cruel 
Ogre  who  eats  little  children  ?  " 

"  Alas !  dear  madam,"  answered  Little  Thumb 
(who,  with  his  brothers,  was  trembling  in  every 
limb),  "what  shall  we  do?  The  wolves  of  the 
forest  surely  will  devour  us  to-night  if  you  refuse 
us  shelter  in  your  house ;  and  so  we  would  rather 
the  gentleman  should  eat  us.  Perhaps  he  may 
take  pity  upon  us  if  you  will  be  pleased  to  ask 
him  to  do  so." 

The  Ogre's  wife,  who  believed  she  could  hide 
them  from  her  husband  till  morning,  let  them 
come  in,  and  took  them  to  warm  themselves  at 
a  very  good  fire ;  for  there  was  a  whole  sheep 
roasting  for  the  Ogre's  supper. 

As  they  began  to  warm  themselves  they  heard 
three  or  four  great  raps  at  the  door ;  this  was  the 
Ogre,  who  was  come  home.  His  wife  quickly  hid 
them  under  the  bed  and  went  to  open  the  door. 
The  Ogre  at  once  asked  if  supper  was  ready  and 


Little  Thumb  37 

the  wine  drawn,  and  then  sat  himself  down  to 
table.  The  sheep  was  as  yet  all  raw,  but  he  liked 
it  the  better  for  that.  He  sniffed  about  to  the 
right  and  left,  saying :  — 

"  I  smell  fresh  meat." 

"  What  you  smell,"  said  his  wife,  "  must  be  the 
calf  which  I  have  just  now  killed  and  flayed." 

"  I  smell  fresh  meat,  I  tell  you  once  more," 
replied  the  Ogre,  looking  crossly  at  his  wife,  "  and 
there  is  something  here  which  I  do  not  under- 
stand." 

As  he  spoke  these  words  he  got  up  from  the 
table  and  went  straight  to  the  bed. 

"  Ah  !  "  said  he,  "  that  is  how  you  would  cheat 
me ;  I  know  not  why  I  do  not  eat  you,  too ;  it  is 
well  for  you  that  you  are  tough.  Here  is  game, 
which  comes  very  luckily  to  entertain  three  Ogres 
of  my  acquaintance  who  are  to  pay  me  a  visit  in 
a  day  or  two."  ^S 

He  dragged  them  out  from  under  the  bed,  one 
by  one.  The  poor  children  fell  upon  their  knees 
and  begged  his  pardon,  but  they  had  to  do  with 
one  of  the  most  cruel  of  Ogres,  who,  far  from 
having  any  pity  on  them,  was  already  devouring 
them  in  his  mind,  and  told  his  wife  they  would  be 
delicate  eating  when  she  had  made  a  good  sauce. 

He  then  took  a  great  knife,  and,  coming  up  to 
these  poor  children,  sharpened  it  upon  a  great 
whetstone  which  he  held  in  his  left  hand.     He 


3 8  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

had  already  taken  hold  of  one  of  them  when  his 
wife  said  to  him :  — 

"  What  need  you  do  it  now  ?  Will  you  not 
have  time  enough  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  Hold  your  prating,"  said  the  Ogre  ;  "  they  will 
eat  the  tenderer." 

"  But  you  have  so  much  meat  already,"  replied 
his  wife ;  "  here  are  a  calf,  two  sheep,  and  half  a 

pig* 

"  That  is  true,"  said  the  Ogre ;  "  give  them  a 

good  supper  that  they  may  not  grow  thin,  and 

put  them  to  bed." 

The  good  woman  was  overjoyed  at  this,  and 
gave  them  a  good  supper ;  but  they  were  so  much 
afraid  that  they  could  not  eat.  As  for  the  Ogre, 
he  sat  down  again  to  drink,  being  highly  pleased 
that  he  had  the  wherewithal  to  treat  his  friends. 
He  drank  a  dozen  glasses  more  than  ordinary, 
which  got  up  into  his  head  and  obliged  him  to  go 
to  bed. 

The  Ogre  had  seven  daughters,  who  were  still 
little  children.  These  young  Ogresses  had  all  of 
them  very  fine  complexions ;  but  they  all  had  little 
gray  eyes,  quite  round,  hooked  noses,  a  very  large 
mouth,  and  very  long,  sharp  teeth,  set  far  apart. 
They  were  not  as  yet  wicked,  but  they  promised 
well  to  be,  for  they  had  already  bitten  little 
children. 

They  had  been  put  to  bed  early,  all  seven  in 


Little  Thumb  39 

one  bed,  with  every  one  a  crown  of  gold  upon 
her  head.  There  was  in  the  same  chamber  a 
bed  of  the  like  size,  and  the  Ogre's  wife  put  the 
seven  little  boys  into  this  bed,  after  which  she 
went  to  bed  herself. 

Little  Thumb,  who  had  observed  that  the 
Ogre's  daughters  had  crowns  of  gold  upon  their 
heads,  and  was  afraid  lest  the  Ogre  should  repent 
his  not  killing  them  that  evening,  got  up  about 
midnight,  and,  taking  his  brothers'  bonnets  and 
his  own,  went  very  softly  and  put  them  upon  the 
heads  of  the  seven  little  Ogresses,  after  having 
taken  off  their  crowns  of  gold,  which  he  put 
upon  his  own  head  and  his  brothers',  sa  that  the 
Ogre  might  take  them  for  his  daughters,  and  his 
daughters  for  the  little  boys  whom  he  wanted  to 
kill. 

Things  turned  out  just  as  he  had  thought;  for 
the  Ogre,  waking  about  midnight,  regretted  that 
he  had  deferred  till  morning  to  do  that  which  he 
might  have  done  overnight,  and  jumped  quickly 
out  of  bed,  taking  his  great  knife. 

"Let  us  see,"  said  he,  "how  our  little  rogues 
do,  and  not  make  two  jobs  of  the  matter." 

He  then  went  up,  groping  all  the  way,  into 
his  daughters'  chamber ;  and,  coming  to  the  bed 
where  the  little  boys  lay,  and  who  were  all  fast 
asleep,  except  Little  Thumb,  who  was  terribly 
afraid  when  he  found  the  Ogre  fumbling  about 


40  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

his  head,  as  he  had  done  about  his  brothers',  he 
felt  the  golden  crowns,  and  said  :  — 

"  I  should  have  made  a  fine  piece  of  work  of  it, 
truly ;  it  is  clear  I  drank  too  much  last  night." 

Then  he  went  to  the  bed  where  the  girls  lay, 
and,  having  found  the  boys'  little  bonnets :  — 

"  Ah ! "  said  he,  "  my  merry  lads,  are  you  there  ? 
Let  us  work  boldly." 

And  saying  these  words,  without  more  ado,  he 
cruelly  murdered  all  his  seven  daughters.  Well 
pleased  with  what  he  had  done,  he  went  to  bed 
again. 

So  soon  as  Little  Thumb  heard  the  Ogre 
snore,  he  waked  his  brothers,  and  bade  them  put 
on  their  clothes  quickly  and  follow  him.  They 
stole  softly  into  the  garden  and  got  over  the  wall. 
They  ran  about  all  night,. trembling  all  the  while, 
without  knowing  which  way  they  went. 

The  Ogre,  when  he  woke,  said  to  his  wife: 
"  Go  upstairs  and  dress  those  young  rascals  who 
came  here  last  night."  The  Ogress  was  very 
much  surprised  at  this  goodness  of  her  husband, 
not  dreaming  after  what  manner  she  should  dress 
them;  but,  thinking  that  he  had  ordered  her  to 
go  up  and  put  on  their  clothes,  she  went,  and 
was  horrified  when  she  perceived  her  seven 
daughters  all  dead. 

She  began  by  fainting  away,  as  was  only  natural 
in  such  a  case.     The  Ogre,  fearing  his  wife  was 


Little  Thumb  41 

too  long  in  doing  what  he  had  ordered,  went  up 
himself  to  help  her.  He  was  no  less  amazed  than 
his  wife  at  this  frightful  spectacle. 

"  Ah !  what  have  I  done  ?  "  cried  he.  "  The 
wretches  shall  pay  for  it,  and  that  instantly." 

He  threw  a  pitcher  of  water  upon  his  wife's 
face,  and  having  brought  her  to  herself,  "  Give 
me  quickly,"  cried  he,  "  my  seven-leagued  boots, 
that  I  may  go  and  catch  them." 

He  went  out  into  the  country,  and,  after  run- 
ning in  all  directions,  he  came  at  last  into  the 
very  road  where  the  poor  children  were,  and  not 
above  a  hundred  paces  from  their  father's  house. 
They  espied  the  Ogre,  who  went  at  one  step  from 
mountain  to  mountain,  and  over  rivers  as  easily 
as  the  narrowest  brooks.  Little  Thumb,  seeing 
a  hollow  rock  near  the  place  where  they  were, 
hid  his  brothers  in  it,  and  crowded  into  it  him- 
self, watching  always  what  would  become  of  the 
Ogre. 

The  Ogre,  who  found  himself  tired  with  his 
long  and  fruitless  journey  (for  these  boots  of 
seven  leagues  greatly  taxed  the  wearer),  had  a 
great  mind  to  rest  himself,  and,  by  chance,  went 
to  sit  down  upon  the  rock  in  which  the  little 
boys  had  hidden  themselves.  As  he  was  worn  out 
with  fatigue,  he  fell  asleep,  and,  after  reposing 
himself  some  time,  began  to  snore  so  frightfully 
that  the  poor  children  were  no  less  afraid  of  him 


42  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

than  when  he  held  up  his  great  knife  and  was 
going  to  take  their  lives.  Little  Thumb  was  not 
so  much  frightened  as  his  brothers,  and  told  them 
that  they  should  run  away  at  once  toward  home 
while  the  Ogre  was  asleep  so  soundly,  and  that 
they  need  not  be  in  any  trouble  about  him.  They 
took  his  advice,  and  got  home  quickly. 

i  Little  Thumb  then  went  close  to  the  Ogre, 
pulled  off  his  boots  gently,  and  put  them  on  his 
own  legs.  The  boots  were  very  long  and  large, 
but  as  they  were  fairy  boots,  they  had  the  gift  of 
becoming  big  or  little,  according  to  the  legs  of 
those  who  wore  them ;  so  that  they  fitted  his  feet 
and  legs  as  well  as  if  they  had  been  made  for  him. 
He  went  straight  to  the  Ogre's  house,  where  he 
saw  his  wife  crying  bitterly  for  the  loss  of  her 
murdered  daughters. 

"Your  husband,"  said  Little  Thumb,  "is  in 
very  great  danger,  for  he  has  been  taken  by  a 
gang  of  thieves,  who  have  sworn  to  kill  him  if  he 
does  not  give  them  all  his  gold  and  silver.  At 
the  very  moment  they  held  their  daggers  at  his 
throat  he  perceived  me  and  begged  me  to  come 
and  tell  you  the  condition  he  was  in,  and  to  say 
that  you  should  give  me  all  he  has  of  value,  with- 
out retaining  any  one  thing ;  for  otherwise  they 
will  kill  him  without  mercy.  As  his  case  is  very 
pressing,  he  desired  me  to  make  use  of  his  seven- 
leagued  boots,  which  you  see  I  have  on,  so  that  I 


Little  Thumb  43 

might  make  the  more  haste  and  that  I  might  show 
you  that  I  do  not  impose  upon  you." 

The  good  woman,  being  greatly  frightened,  gave 
him  all  she  had ;  for  this  Ogre  was  a  very  good 
husband,  though  he  ate  up  little  children.  Little 
Thumb,  having  thus  got  all  the  Ogre's  money, 
came  home  to  his  father's  house,  where  he  was 
received  with  abundance  of  joy. 

There  are  many  people  who  do  not  agree  in  re- 
gard to  this  act  of  Little  Thumb's,  and  pretend  that 
he  never  robbed  the  Ogre  at  all,  and  that  he  only 
thought  he  might  very  justly  take  off  his  seven- 
leagued  boots  because  he  made  no  other  use  of 
them  but  to  run  after  little  children.  These  folks 
affirm  that  they  are  very  well  assured  of  this,  be- 
cause they  have  drunk  and  eaten  often  at  the 
fagot-maker's  house.  They  declare  that  when 
Little  Thumb  had  taken  off  the  Ogre's  boots  he 
went  to  Court,  where  he  was  informed  that  they 
were  very  much  in  trouble  about  a  certain  army, 
which  was  two  hundred  leagues  off,  and  anxious 
as  to  the  success  of  a  battle.  He  went,  they  say, 
to  the  King  and  told  him  that  if  he  desired  it, 
he  would  bring  him  news  from  the  army  before 
night. 

The  King  promised  him  a  great  sum  of  money 
if  he  succeeded.  Little  Thumb  returned  that  very 
same  night  with  the  news ;  and,  this  first  expedi- 
tion causing  him  to  be  known,  he  earned  as  much 


44  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

as  he  wished,  for  the  King  paid  him  very  well  for 
carrying  his  orders  to  the  army.  Many  ladies 
employed  him  also  to  carry  messages,  from  which 
he  made  much  money.  After  having  for  some 
time  carried  on  the  business  of  a  messenger  and 
gained  thereby  great  wealth,  he  went  home  to  his 
father,  and  it  is  impossible  to  express  the  joy  of 
his  family.  He  placed  them  all  in  comfortable 
circumstances,  bought  places  for  his  father  and 
brothers,  and  by  that  means  settled  them  very 
handsomely  in  the  world,  while  he  successfully 
continued  to  make  his  own  way. 


THE  MASTER  CAT,  OR  PUSS   IN   BOOTS 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  miller  who  left 
no  more  riches  to  the  three  sons  he  had  than  his 
mill,  his  ass,  and  his  cat.  The  division  was  soon 
made.  Neither  the  lawyer  nor  the  attorney  was 
sent  for.  They  would  soon  have  eaten  up  all 
the  poor  property.  The  eldest  had  the  mill,  the 
second  the  ass,  and  the  youngest  nothing  but  the 
cat. 

The  youngest,  as  we  can  understand,  was  quite 
unhappy  at  having  so  poor  a  share. 

"  My  brothers,"  said  he,  "  may  get  their  living 
handsomely  enough  by  joining  their  stocks  to- 
gether; but,  for  my  part,  when  I  have  eaten  up 
my  cat,  and  made  me  a  muff  of  his  skin,  I  must 
die  of  hunger." 

The  Cat,  who  heard  all  this,  without  appearing 
to  take  any  notice,  said  to  him  with  a  grave  and 
serious  air :  — 

"  Do  not  thus  afflict  yourself,  my  master ;  you 
have  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  give  me  a  bag,  and 
get  a  pair  of  boots  made  for  me,  that  I  may 
scamper  through  the  brambles,  and  you  shall  see 

46 


46  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

that  you  have  not  so  poor  a  portion  in  me  as  you 
think." 

Though  the  Cat's  master  did  not  think  much 
of  what  he  said,  he  had  seen  him  play  such  cun- 
ning tricks  to  catch  rats  and  mice  —  hanging 
himself  by  the  heels,  or  hiding  himself  in  the 
meal,  to  make  believe  he  was  dead  —  that  he  did 
not  altogether  despair  of  his  helping  him  in  his 
misery.  When  the  Cat  had  what  he  asked  for, 
he  booted  himself  very  gallantly,  and  putting  his 
bag  about  his  neck,  he  held  the  strings  of  it  in 
his  two  forepaws,  and  went  into  a  warren  where 
was  a  great  number  of  rabbits.  He  put  bran  and 
sow-thistle  into  his  bag,  and,  stretching  out  at 
length,  as  if  he  were  dead,  he  waited  for  some 
young  rabbits,  not  yet  acquainted  with  the  deceits 
of  the  world,  to  come  and  rummage  his  bag  for 
what  he  had  put  into  it. 

Scarcely  was  he  settled  but  he  had  what  he 
wanted.  A  rash  and  foolish  young  rabbit  jumped 
into  his  bag,  and  Monsieur  Puss,  immediately 
drawing  close  the  strings,  took  him  and  killed 
him  at  once.  Proud  of  his  prey,  he  went  with  it 
to  the  palace,  and  asked  to  speak  with  the  King, 
He  was  shown  upstairs  into  his  Majesty's  apart- 
ment, and,  making  a  low  bow  to  the  King,  he 
said :  — 

"  I  have  brought  you,  sire,  a  rabbit  which  my 
noble  Lord,  the  Master  of  Carabas  "  (for  that  was 


The  Master  Cat,  or  Puss  in  Boots         47 

the  title  which  Puss  was  pleased  to  give  his  mas- 
ter) "has  commanded  me  to  present  to  your 
Majesty  from  him." 

"  Tell  thy  master,"  said  the  King,  "  that  I  thank 
him,  and  that  I  am  pleased  with  his  gift." 

Another  time  he  went  and  hid  himself  among 
some  standing  corn,  still  holding  his  bag  open; 
and  when  a  brace  of  partridges  ran  into  it,  he 
drew  the  strings,  and  so  caught  them  both.  He 
then  went  and  made  a  present  of  these  to  the 
King,  as  he  had  done  before  of  the  rabbit  which 
he  took  in  the  warren.  The  King,  in  like  man- 
ner, received  the  partridges  with  great  pleasure, 
and  ordered  his  servants  to  reward  him. 

The  Cat  continued  for  two  or  three  months 
thus  to  carry  his  Majesty,  from  time  to  time, 
some  of  his  master's  game.  One  day  when  he 
knew  that  the  King  was  to  take  the  air  along  the 
riverside,  with  his  daughter,  the  most  beautiful 
princess  in  the  world,  he  said  to  his  master :  — 

"  If  you  will  follow  my  advice,  your  fortune  is 
made.  You  have  nothing  else  to  do  but  go 
and  bathe  in  the  river,  just  at  the  spot  I  shall 
show  you,  and  leave  the  rest  to  me." 

The  Marquis  of  Carabas  did  what  the  Cat  ad- 
vised him  to,  without  knowing  what  could  be  the 
use  of  doing  it.  While  he  was  bathing,  the  King 
passed  by,  and  the  Cat  cried  out  with  all  his 
might:  — 


48  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

"  Help !  help  !  My  Lord  the  Marquis  of  Cara- 
bas  is  drowning ! " 

At  this  noise  the  King  put  his  head  out  of  the 
coach  window,  and  seeing  the  Cat  who  had  so 
often  brought  him  game,  he  commanded  his 
guards  to  run  immediately  to  the  assistance  of 
his  Lordship  the  Marquis  of  Carabas. 

While  they  were  drawing  the  poor  Marquis  out 
of  the  river,  the  Cat  came  up  to  the  coach  and 
told  the  King  that,  while  his  master  was  bathing, 
there  came  by  some  rogues,  who  ran  off  with  his 
clothes,  though  he  had  cried  out,  "  Thieves ! 
thieves !  "  several  times,  as  loud  as  he  could.  The 
cunning  Cat  had  hidden  the  clothes  under  a  great 
stone.  The  King  immediately  commanded  the 
officers  of  his  wardrobe  to  run  and  fetch  one  of 
his  best  suits  for  the  Lord  Marquis  of  Carabas. 

The  King  was  extremely  polite  to  him,  and  as 
the  fine  clothes  he  had  given  him  set  off  his  good 
looks  (for  he  was  well  made  and  handsome),  the 
King's  daughter  found  him  very  much  to  her 
liking,  and  the  Marquis  of  Carabas  had  no  sooner 
cast  two  or  three  respectful  and  somewhat  tender 
glances  than  she  fell  in  love  with  him  to  distrac- 
tion. The  King  would  have  him  come  into  the 
coach  and  take  part  in  the  airing.  The  Cat,  over- 
joyed to  see  his  plan  begin  to  succeed,  marched 
on  before,  and,  meeting  with  some  countrymen, 
who  were  mowing  a  meadow,  he  said  to  them:  — 


H  Thb  Marquis  of  Carabas  is  drowning  ! " 
49 


$o  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

"  Good  people,  you  who  are  mowing,  if  you 
do  not  tell  the  King  that  the  meadow  you 
mow  belongs  to  my  Lord  Marquis  of  Carabas, 
you  shall  be  chopped  as  small  as  herbs  for  the 
pot." 

The  King  did  not  fail  to  ask  the  mowers  to 
whom  the  meadow  they  were  mowing  belonged. 

"  To  my  Lord  Marquis  of  Carabas,"  answered 
they  all  together,  for  the  Cat's  threat  had  made 
them  afraid. 

"You  have  a  good  property  there/'  said  the 
King  to  the  Marquis  of  Carabas. 

"You  see,  sire,"  said  the  Marquis,  "this  is  a 
meadow  which  never  fails  to  yield  a  plentiful 
harvest  every  year." 

The  Master  Cat,  who  went  still  on  before,  met 
with  some  reapers,  and  said  to  them :  — 

"  Good  people,  you  who  are  reaping,  if  you  do 
not  say  that  all  this  corn  belongs  to  the  Marquis 
of  Carabas,  you  shall  be  chopped  as  small  as 
herbs  for  the  pot." 

The  King,  who  passed  by  a  moment  after, 
wished  to  know  to  whom  belonged  all  that  corn, 
which  he  then  saw. 

"  To  my  Lord  Marquis  of  Carabas,"  replied  the 
reapers,  and  the  King  was  very  well  pleased  with 
it,  as  well  as  the  Marquis,  whom  he  congratulated 
thereupon.  The  Master  Cat,  who  went  always 
before,  said  the  same  thing  to  all  he  met,  and  the 


The  Master  Cat,  or  Puss  in  Boots  51 

King  was  astonished  at  the  vast  estates  of  my 
Lord  Marquis  of  Carabas. 

Monsieur  Puss  came  at  last  to  a  stately  castle, 
the  master  of  which  was  an  Ogre,  the  richest  ever 
known;  for  all  the  lands  which  the  King  had 
then  passed  through  belonged  to  this  castle.  The 
Cat,  who  had  taken  care  to  inform  himself  who 
this  Ogre  was  and  what  he  could  do,  asked  to 
speak  with  him,  saying  he  could  not  pass  so  near 
his  castle  without  having  the  honor  of  paying 
his  respects  to  him. 

The  Ogre  received  him  as  civilly  as  an  Ogre 
could  do,  and  made  him  sit  down. 

"  I  have  been  assured,"  said  the  Cat,  "  that  you 
have  the  gift  of  being  able  to  change  yourself  into 
all  sorts  of  creatures  you  have  a  mind  to;  that 
you  can,  for  example,  transform  yourself  into  a 
lion,  or  elephant,  and  the  like." 

"That  is  true,"  answered  the  Ogre,  roughly; 
"and  to  convince  you,  you  shall  see  me  now 
become  a  lion." 

Puss  was  so  terrified  at  the  sight  of  a  lion  so 
near  him  that  he  immediately  climbed  into  the 
gutter,  not  without  much  trouble  and  danger, 
because  of  his  boots,  which  were  of  no  use  at 
all  to  him  for  walking  upon  the  tiles.  A  little 
while  after,  when  Puss  saw  that  the  Ogre  had 
resumed  his  natural  form,  he  came  down,  and 
owned  he  had  been  very  much  frightened. 


52  The  Tales  of  Mather  Goose 

"  I  have,  moreover,  been  informed,"  said  the 
Cat,  "but  I  know  not  how  to  believe  it,  that 
you  have  also  the  power  to  take  on  you  the 
shape  of  the  smallest  animals;  for  example,  to 
change  yourself  into  a  rat  or  a  mouse,  but  I 
must  own  to  you  I  take  this  to  be  impossible." 

"  Impossible  !  "  cried  the  Ogre ;  "  you  shall  see." 
And  at  the  same  time  he  changed  himself  into 
a  mouse,  and  began  to  run  about  the  floor.  Puss 
no  sooner  perceived  this  than  he  fell  upon  him 
and  ate  him  up. 

Meanwhile,  the  King,  who  saw,  as  he  passed, 
this  fine  castle  of  the  Ogre's,  had  a  mind  to  go 
into  it.  Puss,  who  heard  the  noise  of  his 
Majesty's  coach  coming  over  the  drawbridge, 
ran  out,  and  said  to  the  King,  "Your  Majesty 
is  welcome  to  this  castle  of  my  Lord  Marquis 
of  Carabas." 

"  What !  my  Lord  Marquis,"  cried  the  King, 
"  and  does  this  castle  also  belong  to  you  ?  There 
can  be  nothing  finer  than  this  courtyard  and  all 
the  stately  buildings  which  surround  it;  let  us 
see  the  interior,  if  you  please." 

The  Marquis  gave  his  hand  to  the  young 
Princess,  and  followed  the  King,  who  went  first. 
They  passed  into  the  great  hall,  where  they 
found  a  magnificent  collation,  which  the  Ogre 
had  prepared  for  his  friends,  who  were  that 
very  day  to  visit  him,  but  dared  not  to  enteiv 


The  Master  Cat,  or  Puss  in  Boots  53 

knowing  the  King  was  there.  His  Majesty, 
charmed  with  the  good  qualities  of  my  Lord  of 
Carabas,  as  was  also  his  daughter,  who  had  fallen 
violently  in  love  with  him,  and  seeing  the  vast 
estate  he  possessed,  said  to  him :  — 

"  It  will  be  owing  to  yourself  only,  my  Lord 
Marquis,  if  you  are  not  my  son-in-law." 

The  Marquis,  with  low  bows,  accepted  the 
honor  which  his  Majesty  conferred  upon  him, 
and  forthwith  that  very  same  day  married  the 
Princess. 

Puss  became  a  great  lord,  and  never  ran  after 
mice  any  more  except  for  his  diversion. 


RIQUET  WITH   THE  TUFT 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  Queen  who  had 
a  son  so  ugly  and  so  misshapen  that  it  was  long 
disputed  whether  he  had  human  form.  A  fairy 
who  was  at  his  birth  said,  however,  that  he  would 
be  very  amiable  for  all  that,  since  he  would  have 
uncommon  good  sense.  She  even  added  that  it 
would  be  in  his  power,  by  virtue  of  a  gift  she  had 
just  then  given  him,  to  bestow  as  much  sense  as 
he  pleased  on  the  person  he  loved  the  best.  All 
this  somewhat  comforted  the  poor  Queen.  It  is 
true  that  this  child  no  sooner  began  to  talk  than 
he  said  a  thousand  pretty  things,  and  in  all  his 
actions  there  was  an  intelligence  that  was  quite 
charming.  I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  he  was  born 
with  a  little  tuft  of  hair  upon  his  head,  which  made 
them  call  him  Riquet 1  with  the  Tuft,  for  Riquet 
was  the  family  name. 

Seven  or  eight  years  later  the  Queen  of  a 
neighboring  kingdom  had  two  daughters  who 
were  twins.  The  first  born  of  these  was  more 
beautiful  than  the  day ;  whereat  the  Queen  was 
so  very  glad  that  those  present  were  afraid  that 

54 


Rfquet  with  the  Tuft  55 

her  excess  of  joy  would  do  her  harm.  The  same 
fairy  who  was  present  at  the  birth  of  little  Riquet 
with  the  Tuft  was  here  also,  and,  to  moderate  the 
Queen's  gladness,  she  declared  that  this  little  Prin- 
cess should  have  no  sense  at  all,  but  should  be 
as  stupid  as  she  was  pretty.  This  mortified  the 
Queen  extremely;  but  afterward  she  had  a  far 
greater  sorrow,  for  the  second  daughter  proved 
to  be  very  ugly. 

"  Do  not  afflict  yourself  so  much,  madam,"  said 
the  fairy.  "  Your  daughter  shall  have  her  rec- 
ompense; she  shall  have  so  great  a  portion  of 
sense  that  the  want  of  beauty  will  hardly  be 
perceived." 

"  God  grant  it,"  replied  the  Queen ;  "  but  is  there 
no  way  to  make  the  eldest,  who  is  so  pretty,  have 
any  sense  ? " 

"  I  can  do  nothing  for  her,  madam,  as  to  sense," 
answered  the  fairy,  "  but  everything  as  to  beauty ; 
and  as  there  is  nothing  I  would  not  do  for  your 
satisfaction,  I  give  her  for  gift  that  she  shall  have 
power  to  make  handsome  the  person  who  shall 
best  please  her." 

As  these  princesses  grew  up,  their  perfections 
grew  with  them.  All  the  public  talk  was  of  the 
beauty  of  the  elder  and  the  rare  good  sense  of  the 
younger.  It  is  true  also  that  their  defects  in- 
creased considerably  with  their  age.  The  younger 
visibly  grew  uglier  and  uglier,  and  the  elder  be- 


;6  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

came  every  day  more  and  more  stupid :  she  either 
made  no  answer  at  all  to  what  was  asked  her,  or 
said  something  very  silly.  She  was  with  all  this 
so  unhandy  that  she  could  not  place  four  pieces  of 
china  upon  the  mantelpiece  without  breaking  one 
of  them,  nor  drink  a  glass  of  water  without  spill- 
ing half  of  it  upon  her  clothes. 

Although  beauty  is  a  very  great  advantage  in 
young  people,  the  younger  sister  was  always  the 
more  preferred  in  society.  People  would  indeed 
go  first  to  the  Beauty  to  look  upon  and  admire 
her,  but  turn  aside  soon  after  to  the  Wit  to  hear  a 
thousand  most  entertaining  and  agreeable  things; 
and  it  was  amazing  to  see,  in  less  than  a  quarter 
of  an  hour's  time,  the  elder  with  not  a  soul  near 
her,  and  the  whole  company  crowding  about  the 
younger.  The  elder,  dull  as  she  was,  could  not 
fail  to  notice  this ;  and  without  the  slightest  re- 
gret would  have  given  all  her  beauty  to  have  half 
her  sister's  wit.  The  Queen,  prudent  as  she  was, 
could  not  help  reproaching  her  several  times  for 
her  stupidity,  which  almost  made  the  poor  Princess 
die  of  grief. 

One  day,  as  she  had  hidden  herself  in  a  wood 
to  bewail  her  misfortune,  she  saw  coming  to  her 
a  very  disagreeable  little  man,  but  most  magnifi- 
cently dressed.  This  was  the  young  Prince  Riquet 
with  the  Tuft,  who  having  fallen  in  love  with  her 
upon  seeing  her  picture, — many  of  which  were  dis- 


Riquet  with  the  Tuft  57 

tributed  all  the  world  over,  —  had  left  his  father's 
kingdom  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  and  talk- 
ing with  her.  Overjoyed  to  find  her  thus  alone, 
he  addressed  himself  to  her  with  all  imaginable 
politeness  and  respect.  Having  observed,  after 
he  had  paid  her  the  ordinary  compliments,  that 
she  was  extremely  melancholy,  he  said  to  her :  — 

"  I  cannot  comprehend,  madam,  how  a  person 
so  beautiful  as  you  are  can  be  so  sorrowful  as  you 
seem  to  be ;  for  though  I  can  boast  of  having  seen 
a  great  number  of  exquisitely  charming  ladies,  I 
can  say  that  I  never  beheld  any  one  whose  beauty 
approaches  yours." 

"  You  are  pleased  to  say  so,"  answered  the  Prin- 
cess, and  here  she  stopped. 

"  Beauty,"  replied  Riquet  with  the  Tuft,  "  is 
such  a  great  advantage,  that  it  ought  to  take  place 
of  all  things  besides ;  and  since  you  possess  this 
treasure,  I  can  see  nothing  that  can  possibly  very 
much  afflict  you." 

u  I  had  far  rather,"  cried  the  Princess,  "  be  as 
ugly  as  you  are,  and  have  sense,  than  have  the 
beauty  I  possess,  and  be  as  stupid  as  I  am." 

"  There  is  nothing,  madam,"  returned  he,  "  shows 
more  that  we  have  good  sense  than  to  believe  we 
have  none ;  and  it  is  the  nature  of  that  excellent 
quality  that  the  more  people  have  of  it,  the  more 
they  believe  they  want  it." 

"  I  do  not  know  that,"  said  the  Princess ;  "  but 


j8  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

I  know  very  well  that  I  am  very  senseless,  and  that 
vexes  me  mightily." 

"  If  that  be  all  which  troubles  you,  madam,  I 
can  very  easily  put  an  end  to  your  affliction." 

"  And  how  will  you  do  that?  "  cried  the  Princess. 

"  I  have  the  power,  madam,"  replied  Riquet 
with  the  Tuft,  "  to  give  to  that  person  whom  I 
love  best  as  much  good  sense  as  can  be  had ;  and 
as  you,  madam,  are  that  very  person,  it  will  be 
your  fault  only  if  you  have  not  as  great  a  share  of 
it  as  any  one  living,  provided  you  will  be  pleased 
to  marry  me." 

The  Princess  was  quite  confused,  and  answered 
not  a  word. 

"  I  see,"  replied  Riquet  with  the  Tuft,  "  that 
this  proposal  does  not  please  you,  and  I  do  not 
wonder  at  it ;  but  I  will  give  you  a  whole  year 
to  consider  it." 

The  Princess  had  so  little  sense  and,  at  the 
same  time,  so  great  a  longing  to  have  some, 
that  she  imagined  the  end  of  that  year  would 
never  come,  so  she  accepted  the  proposal  which 
was  made  her. 

She  had  no  sooner  promised  Riquet  with  the 
Tuft  that  she  would  marry  him  on  that  day 
twelvemonth  than  she  found  herself  quite  other- 
wise than  she  was  before:  she  had  an  incredible 
faculty  of  speaking  whatever  she  had  in  her  mind 
in  a  polite,  easy,  and  natural  manner. 


Riquet  with  the  Tuft  59 

She  began  that  moment  a  very  gallant  conver- 
sation with  Riquet  with  the  Tuft,  which  she  kept 
up  at  such  a  rate  that  Riquet  with  the  Tuft  be- 
lieved he  had  given  her  more  sense  than  he  had 
reserved  for  himself. 

When  she  returned  to  the  palace,  the  whole 
court  knew  not  what  to  think  of  such  a  sudden 
and  extraordinary  change;  for  they  heard  from 
her  now  as  much  sensible  discourse  and  as  many 
infinitely  witty  phrases  as  they  had  heard  stupid 
and  silly  impertinences  before.  The  whole  court 
was  overjoyed  beyond  imagination  at  it.  It  pleased 
all  but  her  younger  sister,  because,  having  no  longer 
the  advantage  of  her  in  respect  of  wit,  she  appeared 
in  comparison  with  her  a  very  disagreeable,  homely 
girl. 

The  King  governed  himself  by  her  advice,  and 
would  even  sometimes  hold  a  council  in  her  apart- 
ment. The  news  of  this  change  in  the  Princess 
spread  everywhere ;  the  young  princes  of  the  neigh- 
boring kingdoms  strove  all  they  could  to  gain  her 
favor,  and  almost  all  of  them  asked  her  in  marriage; 
but  she  found  not  one  of  them  had  sense  enough 
for  her.  She  gave  them  all  a  hearing,  but  would 
not  engage  herself  to  any. 

However,  there  came  one  so  powerful,  so  rich, 
so  witty,  and  so  handsome  that  she  could  not  help 
feeling  a  strong  inclination  toward  him.  Her 
father  perceived  it,  and  told  her  that  she  was  her 


60  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

own  mistress  as  to  the  choice  of  a  husband,  and 
that  she  might  declare  her  intentions.  She  thanked 
her  father,  and  desired  him  to  give  her  time  to 
consider  it. 

She  went  by  chance  to  walk  in  the  same  wood 
where  she  met  Riquet  with  the  Tuft,  the  more 
conveniently  to  think  what  she  ought  to  do. 
While  she  was  walking  in  a  profound  medita- 
tion, she  heard  a  confused  noise  under  her  feet, 
as  it  were  of  a  great  many  people  busily  running 
backward  and  forward.  Listening  more  atten- 
tively, she  heard  one  say:  — 

"  Bring  me  that  pot,"  another,  "  Give  me  that 
kettle,"  and  a  third,  "Put  some  wood  upon  the 
fire." 

The  ground  at  the  same  time  opened,  and  she 
saw  under  her  feet  a  great  kitchen  full  of  cooks, 
kitchen  helps,  and  all  sorts  of  officers  necessary 
for  a  magnificent  entertainment.  There  came  out 
of  it  a  company  of  cooks,  to  the  number  of  twenty 
or  thirty,  who  went  to  plant  themselves  about  a 
very  long  table  set  up  in  the  forest,  with  their  lard- 
ing pins  in  their  hands  and  fox  tails  in  their  caps, 
and  began  to  work,  keeping  time  to  a  very  har- 
monious tune. 

The  Princess,  all  astonished  at  this  sight,  asked 
them  for  whom  they  worked. 

"  For  Prince  Riquet  with  the  Tuft,"  said  the 
chief  of  them,  "  who  is  to  be  married  to-morrow." 


Riquet  with  the  Tuft  6ft 

The  Princess,  more  surprised  than  ever,  and 
recollecting  all  at  once  that  it  was  now  that  day 
twelvemonth  on  which  she  had  promised  to  marry 
the  Prince  Riquet  with  the  Tuft,  was  ready  to 
sink  into  the  ground. 

What  made  her  forget  this  was  that  when  she 
made  this  promise,  she  was  very  silly ;  and  having 
obtained  that  vast  stock  of  sense  which  the  prince 
had  bestowed  upon  her,  she  had  entirely  forgotten 
the  things  she  had  done  in  the  days  of  her  stu- 
pidity. She  continued  her  walk,  but  had  not 
taken  thirty  steps  before  Riquet  with  the  Tuft 
presented  himself  to  her,  gallant  and  mqst  mag- 
nificently dressed,  like  a  prince  who  was  going  to 
be  married. 

"  You  see,  madam,"  said  he,  "  I  am  exact  in 
keeping  my  word,  and  doubt  not  in  the  least  but 
you  are  come  hither  to  perform  your  promise." 

44  I  frankly  confess,"  answered  the  Princess, "  that 
I  have  not  yet  come  to  a  decision  in  this  matter, 
and  I  believe  I  never  shall  be  able  to  arrive  at  such 
a  one  as  you  desire." 

44  You  astonish  me,  madam,"  said  Riquet  with 
the  Tuft. 

44 1  can  well  believe  it,"  said  the  Princess ;  44  and 
surely  if  I  had  to  do  with  a  clown,  or  a  man  of  no 
sense,  I  should  find  myself  very  much  at  a  loss. 
4  A  princess  always  keeps  her  word/  he  would  say 
to  me,  4  and  you  must  marry  me,  since  you  prom- 


62  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

ised  to  do  so/  But  as  he  to  whom  I  talk  is  the 
one  man  in  the  world  who  is  master  of  the  great- 
est sense  and  judgment,  I  am  sure  he  will  hear 
reason.  You  know  that  when  I  was  but  a  fool  I 
could  scarcely  make  up  my  mind  to  marry  you ; 
why  will  you  have  me,  now  I  have  so  much  judg- 
ment as  you  gave  me,  come  to  such  a  decision 
which  I  could  not  then  make  up  my  mind  to  agree 
to  ?  If  you  sincerely  thought  to  make  me  your 
wife,  you  have  been  greatly  in  the  wrong  to  deprive 
me  of  my  dull  simplicity,  and  make  me  see  things 
much  more  clearly  than  I  did." 

"  If  a  man  of  no  wit  and  sense,"  replied  Riquet 
with  the  Tuft,  "would  be  well  received,  as  you 
say,  in  reproaching  you  for  breach  of  your  word, 
why  will  you  not  let  me,  madam,  have  the  same 
usage  in  a  matter  wherein  all  the  happiness  of  my 
life  is  concerned  ?  Is  it  reasonable  that  persons 
of  wit  and  sense  should  be  in  a  worse  condition 
than  those  who  have  none  ?  Can  you  pretend  this, 
you  who  have  so  great  a  share,  and  desired  so  ear- 
nestly to  have  it  ?  But  let  us  come  to  the  fact,  if 
you  please.  Putting  aside  my  ugliness  and  de- 
formity, is  there  anything  in  me  which  displeased 
you  ?  Are  you  dissatisfied  with  my  birth,  my  wit, 
my  humor,  or  my  manners  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  answered  the  Princess;  "  I  love  you 
and  respect  you  in  all  that  you  mention." 

h  If  it  be  so,"  said  Riquet  with  the  Tuft,  "  I  am 


"I  AM  EXACT  IN   KEEPING  MY  WORD. 


64  The  Talcs  of  Mother  Goose 

happy,  since  it  is  in  your  power  to  make  me  the 
most  amiable  of  men." 

"  How  can  that  be  ? "  said  the  Princess. 

"  It  is  done,"  said  Riquet  with  the  Tuft,  "  if  you 
love  me  enough  to  wish  it  was  so;  and  that  you 
may  no  ways  doubt,  madam,  of  what  I  say,  know 
that  the  same  fairy  who  on  my  birthday  gave  me 
for  gift  the  power  of  making  the  person  who  should 
please  me  witty  and  judicious,  has  in  like  manner 
given  you  for  gift  the  power  of  making  him  whom 
you  love  and  to  whom  you  would  grant  the  favor, 
to  be  extremely  handsome." 

"  If  it  be  so,"  said  the  Princess,  "  I  wish  with  all 
my  heart  that  you  may  be  the  most  lovable  prince 
in  the  world,  and  I  bestow  my  gift  on  you  as  much 
as  I  am  able." 

The  Princess  had  no  sooner  pronounced  these 
words  than  Riquet  with  the  Tuft  appeared  to  her 
the  finest  prince  upon  earth,  the  handsomest  and 
most  amiable  man  she  ever  saw.  Some  affirm  that 
it  was  not  the  fairy's  charms,  but  love  alone,  which 
worked  the  change. 

They  say  that  the  Princess,  having  made  due 
reflection  on  the  perseverance  of  her  lover,  his 
discretion,  and  all  the  good  qualities  of  his  mind, 
his  wit  and  judgment,  saw  no  longer  the  deformity 
of  his  body,  nor  the  ugliness  of  his  face ;  that  his 
hump  seemed  to  her  no  more  than  the  grand  air 
of  one  having  a  broad  back,  and  that  whereas  till 


Riquct  with  the  Tuft  6$ 

then  she  saw  him  limp  horribly,  she  now  found  it 
nothing  more  than  a  certain  sidling  air,  which 
charmed  her. 

They  say  further  that  his  eyes,  which  were 
squinted  very  much,  seemed  to  her  most  bright  and 
sparkling,  that  their  irregularity  passed  in  her  judg- 
ment for  a  mark  of  the  warmth  of  his  affection, 
and,  in  short,  that  his  great  red  nose  was,  in  her 
opinion,  somewhat  martial  and  heroic  in  character. 

However  it  was,  the  Princess  promised  immedi- 
ately to  marry  him,  on  condition  that  he  obtained 
the  King's  consent.  The  King,  knowing  that  his 
daughter  highly  esteemed  Riquet  with  the  Tuft, 
whom  he  knew  also  for  a  most  sage  and  judi- 
cious prince,  received  him  for  his  son-in-law  with 
pleasure,  and  the  next  morning  their  nuptials 
were  celebrated,  as  Riquet  with  the  Tuft  had  fore- 
seen, and  according  to  the  orders  he  had  given  a 
long  time  before. 


BLUE  BEARD 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  man  who  had 
fine  houses,  both  in  town  and  country,  a  deal  of 
silver  and  gold  plate,  carved  furniture,  and  coaches 
gilded  all  over.  But  unhappily  this  man  had  a 
blue  beard,  which  made  him  so  ugly  and  so  ter- 
rible that  all  the  women  and  girls  ran  away  from 
him. 

One  of  his  neighbors,  a  lady  of  quality,  had 
two  daughters  who  were  perfect  beauties.  He 
asked  for  one  of  them  in  marriage,  leaving  to  her 
the  choice  of  which  she  would  bestow  on  him. 
They  would  neither  of  them  have  him,  and  they 
sent  him  backward  and  forward  from  one  to  the 
other,  neither  being  able  to  make  up  her  mind  to 
marry  a  man  who  had  a  blue  beard.  Another  thing 
which  made  them  averse  to  him  was  that  he  had 
already  married  several  wives,  and  nobody  knew 
what  had  become  of  them. 

Blue  Beard,  to  become  better  acquainted,  took 
them,  with  their  mother  and  three  or  four  of  their 
best  friends,  with  some  young  people  of  the 
neighborhood  to  one  of  his  country  seats,  where 
they  stayed  a  whole  week. 

06 


Blue  Beard  67 

There  was  nothing  going  on  but  pleasure  par- 
ties, hunting,  fishing,  dancing,  mirth,  and  feast- 
ing. Nobody  went  to  bed,  but  all  passed  the 
night  in  playing  pranks  on  each  other.  In  short, 
everything  succeeded  so  well  that  the  youngest 
daughter  began  to  think  that  the  beard  of  the 
master  of  the  house  was  not  so  very  blue,  and 
that  he  was  a  very  civil  gentleman.  So  as  soon  as 
they  returned  home,  the  marriage  was  concluded. 

About  a  month  afterward  Blue  Beard  told  his 
wife  that  he  was  obliged  to  take  a  country  jour- 
ney for  six  weeks  at  least,  upon  business  of  great 
importance.  He  desired  her  to  amuse  herself 
well  in  his  absence,  to  send  for  her  friends,  to  take 
them  into  the  country,  if  she  pleased,  and  to  live 
well  wherever  she  was. 

"  Here,"  said  he,  "  are  the  keys  of  the  two  great 
warehouses  wherein  I  have  my  best  furniture: 
these  are  of  the  room  where  I  keep  my  silver  and 
gold  plate,  which  is  not  in  everyday  use ;  these 
open  my  safes,  which  hold  my  money,  both  gold 
and  silver ;  these  my  caskets  of  jewels ;  and  this  is 
the  master-key  to  all  my  apartments.  But  as  for 
this  little  key,  it  is  the  key  of  the  closet  at  the 
end  of  the  great  gallery  on  the  ground  floor. 
Open  them  all ;  go  everywhere ;  but  as  for  that 
little  closet,  I  forbid  you  to  enter  it,  and  I  promise 
you  surely  that,  if  you  open  it,  there's  nothing 
that  you  may  not  expect  from  my  anger/* 


68  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

She  promised  to  obey  exactly  all  his  orders; 
and  he,  after  having  embraced  her,  got  into  his 
coach  and  proceeded  on  his  journey. 

Her  neighbors  and  good  friends  did  not  stay 
to  be  sent  for  by  the  new-married  lady,  so  great 
was  their  impatience  to  see  all  the  riches  of  her 
house,  not  daring  to  come  while  her  husband  was 
there,  because  of  his  blue  beard,  which  frightened 
them.  They  at  once  ran  through  all  the  rooms, 
closets,  and  wardrobes,  which  were  so  fine  and 
rich,  and  each  seemed  to  surpass  all  others. 
They  went  up  into  the  warehouses,  where  was 
the  best  and  richest  furniture ;  and  they  could  not 
sufficiently  admire  the  number  and  beauty  of  the 
tapestry,  beds,  couches,  cabinets,  stands,  tables, 
and  looking-glasses,  in  which  you  might  see  your- 
self from  head  to  foot.  Some  of  them  were 
framed  with  glass,  others  with  silver,  plain  and 
gilded,  the  most  beautiful  and  the  most  magnifi- 
cent ever  seen. 

They  ceased  not  to  praise  and  envy  the  happi- 
ness of  their  friend,  who,  in  the  meantime,  was 
not  at  all  amused  by  looking  upon  all  these  rich 
things,  because  of  her  impatience  to  go  and  open 
the  closet  on  the  ground  floor.  Her  curiosity  was 
so  great  that,  without  considering  how  uncivil  it 
was  to  leave  her  guests,  she  went  down  a  little 
back  staircase,  with  such  excessive  haste  that 
twice  or  thrice  she  came  near  breaking  her  neck. 


If  you  opih  it,  there's  Nothing  you  may  not  expect  from  my  Anger," 


70 


The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 


Having  reached  the  closet-door,  she  stood  still 
for  some  time,  thinking  of  her  husband's  orders, 
and  considering  that  unhappiness  might  attend 
her  if  she  was  disobedient;  but  the  temptation 
was  so  strong  she  could  not  overcome  it.  She 
then  took  the  little  key,  and  opened  the  door, 
trembling.  At  first  she  could  not  see  anything 
plainly,  because  the  windows  were  shut.  After 
some  moments  she  began  to  perceive  that  several 
dead  women  were  scattered  about  the  floor. 
(These  were  all  the  wives  whom  Blue  Beard  had 
married  and  murdered,  one  after  the  other,  because 
they  did  not  obey  his  orders  about  the  closet  on 
the  ground  floor.)  She  thought  she  surely  would 
die  for  fear,  and  the  key,  which  she  pulled  out 
of  the  lock,  fell  out  of  her  hand. 

After  having  somewhat  recovered  from  the 
shock,  she  picked  up  the  key,  locked  the  door, 
and  went  upstairs  into  her  chamber  to  compose 
herself ;  but  she  could  not  rest,  so  much  was  she 
frightened. 

Having  observed  that  the  key  of  the  closet  was 
stained,  she  tried  two  or  three  times  to  wipe  off 
the  stain,  but  the  stain  would  not  come  out.  In 
vain  did  she  wash  it,  and  even  rub  it  with  soap 
and  sand.  The  stain  still  remained,  for  the  key 
was  a  magic  key,  and  she  could  never  make  it 
quite  clean ;  when  the  stain  was  gone  off  from 
one  side,  it  came  again  on  the  other. 


Blue  Beard  71 

Blue  Beard  returned  from  his  journey  that 
same  evening,  and  said  he  had  received  letters 
upon  the  road,  informing  him  that  the  business 
which  called  him  away  was  ended  to  his  advan- 
tage. His  wife  did  all  she  could  to  convince 
him  she  was  delighted  at  his  speedy  return. 

Next  morning  he  asked  her  for  the  keys,  which 
she  gave  him,  but  with  such  a  trembling  hand 
that  he  easily  guessed  what  had  happened. 

"  How  is  it,"  said  he,  "  that  the  key  of  my  closet 
is  not  among  the  rest  ?  " 

"  I  must  certainly,"  said  she,  "  have  left  it  up- 
stairs upon  the  table." 

"  Do  not  fail,"  said  Blue  Beard,  "  to  bring  it  to 
me  presently." 

After  having  put  off  doing  it  several  times,  she 
was  forced  to  bring  him  the  key.  Blue  Beard, 
having  examined  it,  said  to  his  wife :  — 

11  How  comes  this  stain  upon  the  key  ? " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  cried  the  poor  woman,  paler 
than  death. 

"  You  do  not  know ! "  replied  Blue  Beard.  "  I 
very  well  know.  You  wished  to  go  into  the 
cabinet  ?  Very  well,  madam  ;  you  shall  go  in,  and 
take  your  place  among  the  ladies  you  saw  there." 

She  threw  herself  weeping  at  her  husband's 
feet,  and  begged  his  pardon  with  all  the  signs 
of  a  true  repentance  for  her  disobedience.  She 
would  have  melted  a  rock,  so  beautiful  and  sor- 


JO.  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

rowful  was   she;   but   Blue    Beard   had  a  heart 
harder  than  any  stone. 

"  You  must  die,  madam,"  said  he,  "  and  that  at 
once." 

"  Since  I  must  die,"  answered  she,  looking  upon 
him  with  her  eyes  all  bathed  in  tears,  "give  me 
some  little  time  to  say  my  prayers." 

"  I  give  you,"  replied  Blue  Beard,  "  half  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  but  not  one  moment  more." 

When  she  was  alone  she  called  out  to  her 
sister,  and  said  to  her :  — 

"  Sister  Anne,"  —  for  that  was  her  name,  —  "  go 
up,  I  beg  you,  to  the  top  of  the  tower,  and  look 
if  my  brothers  are  not  coming;  they  promised 
me  they  would  come  to-day,  and  if  you  see  them, 
give  them  a  sign  to  make  haste." 

Her  sister  Anne  went  up  to  the  top  of  the 
tower,  and  the  poor  afflicted  wife  cried  out  from 
time  to  time :  — 

"  Anne,  sister  Anne,  do  you  see  any  one  com- 
ing?" 

And  sister  Anne  said :  — 

"  I  see  nothing  but  the  sun,  which  makes  a  dust, 
and  the  grass,  which  looks  green." 

In  the  meanwhile  Blue  Beard,  holding  a  great 
sabre  in  his  hand,  cried  to  his  wife  as  loud  as  he 
could :  — 

M  Come  down  instantly,  or  I  shall  come  up  to 
you." 


Blue  Beard  73 

"  One  moment  longer,  if  you  please,"  said  his 
wife;  and  then  she  cried  out  very  softly,  "Anne, 
sister  Anne,  dost  thou  see  anybody  coming? " 

And  sister  Anne  answered :  — 

"  I  see  nothing  but  the  sun,  which  makes  a  dust, 
and  the  grass,  which  is  green." 

"  Come  down  quickly,"  cried  Blue  Beard,  "  or  I 
will  come  up  to  you." 

"  I  am  coming,"  answered  his  wife ;  and  then  she 
cried,  u  Anne,  sister  Anne,  dost  thou  not  see  any 
one  coming  ? " 

"  I  see,"  replied  sister  Anne,  "  a  great  dust, 
which  comes  from  this  side." 

"Are  they  my  brothers?" 

"  Alas !  no,  my  sister,  I  see  a  flock  of  sheep." 

"  Will  you  not  come  down  ?  "  cried  Blue  Beard. 

"  One  moment  longer,"  said  his  wife,  and  then 
she  cried  out,  "  Anne,  sister  Anne,  dost  thou  see 
nobody  coming  ? " 

"  I  see,"  said  she,  "  two  horsemen,  but  they  are 
yet  a  great  way  off." 

"  God  be  praised,"  replied  the  poor  wife,  joyfully; 
"  they  are  my  brothers ;  I  will  make  them  a  sign, 
as  well  as  I  can,  for  them  to  make  haste." 

Then  Blue  Beard  bawled  out  so  loud  that  he 
made  the  whole  house  tremble.  The  distressed 
wife  came  down,  and  threw  herself  at  his  feet,  all 
in  tears,  with  her  hair  about  her  shoulders. 

"  All  this  is  of  no  help  to  you,"  says  Blue  Beard ; 


74  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

"you  must  die";  then,  taking  hold  of  her  hair 
with  one  hand,  and  lifting  up  his  sword  in  the  air 
with  the  other,  he  was  about  to  take  off  her  head. 
The  poor  lady,  turning  about  to  him,  and  looking 
at  him  with  dying  eyes,  desired  him  to  afford  her 
one  little  moment  to  her  thoughts. 

"  No,  no,"  said  he,  "  commend  thyself  to  God," 
and  again  lifting  his  arm  — 

At  this  moment  there  was  such  a  loud  knocking 
at  the  gate  that  Blue  Beard  stopped  suddenly. 
The  gate  was  opened,  and  presently  entered  two 
horsemen,  who,  with  sword  in  hand,  ran  directly 
to  Blue  Beard.  He  knew  them  to  be  his  wife's 
brothers,  one  a  dragoon,  the  other  a  musketeer. 
He  ran  away  immediately,  but  the  two  brothers 
pursued  him  so  closely  that  they  overtook  him 
before  he  could  get  to  the  steps  of  the  porch. 
There  they  ran  their  swords  through  his  body,  and 
left  him  dead.  The  poor  wife  was  almost  as  dead 
as  her  husband,  and  had  not  strength  enough  to 
arise  and  welcome  her  brothers. 

Blue  Beard  had  no  heirs,  and  so  his  wife  became 
mistress  of  all  his  estate.  She  made  use  of  one 
portion  of  it  to  marry  her  sister  Anne  to  a  young 
gentleman  who  had  loved  her  a  long  while;  an- 
other portion  to  buy  captains'  commissions  for  her 
brothers ;  and  the  rest  to  marry  herself  to  a  very 
worthy  gentleman,  who  made  her  forget  the  sorry 
time  she  had  passed  with  Blue  Beard. 


THE  FAIRY 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  widow  who  had 
two  daughters.  The  elder  was  so  much  like  her, 
both  in  looks  and  character,  that  whoever  saw  the 
daughter  saw  the  mother.  They  were  both  so 
disagreeable  and  so  proud  that  there  was  no  liv- 
ing with  them.  The  younger,  who  was  the  very 
picture  of  her  father  for  sweetness  of  temper  and 
virtue,  was  withal  one  of  the  most  beautiful  girls 
ever  seen.  As  people  naturally  love  their  own 
likeness,  this  mother  doted  on  her  elder  daughter, 
and  at  the  same  time  had  a  great  aversion  for  the 
younger.  She  made  her  eat  in  the  kitchen  and 
work  continually. 

Among  other  things,  this  unfortunate  child  had 
to  go  twice  a  day  to  draw  water  more  than  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  the  house,  and  bring  home  a 
pitcherful  of  it.  One  day,  as  she  was  at  this 
fountain,  there  came  to  her  a  poor  woman,  who 
begged  of  her  to  let  her  drink. 

"  Oh,  yes,  with  all  my  heart,  Goody,"  said  this 
pretty  little  girl.  Rinsing  the  pitcher  at  once,  she 
took  some  of  the  clearest  water  from  the  fountain, 
and  gave  it  to  her,  holding  up  the  pitcher  all  the 
while,  that  she  might  drink  the  easier. 

91 


76  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

The  good  woman  having  drunk,  said  to  her :  — • 

"  You  are  so  pretty,  so  good  and  courteous,  that 
I  cannot  help  giving  you  a  gift."  For  this  was  a 
fairy,  who  had  taken  the  form  of  a  poor  country- 
woman, to  see  how  far  the  civility  and  good  man- 
ners of  this  pretty  girl  would  go.  "  I  will  give 
you  for  gift,"  continued  the  Fairy,  "  that,  at  every 
word  you  speak,  there  shall  come  out  of  your 
mouth  either  a  flower  or  a  jewel." 

When  this  pretty  girl  returned,  her  mother 
scolded  at  her  for  staying  so  long  at  the  fountain, 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  mamma,"  said  the  poof 
girl,  "for  not  making  more  haste." 

And  in  speaking  these  words  there  came  out 
of  her  mouth  two  roses,  two  pearls,  and  two  large 
diamonds. 

"What  is  it  I  see  there?"  said  her  mother, 
quite  astonished.  "  I  think  pearls  and  diamonds 
come  out  of  the  girl's  mouth !  How  happens  this, 
my  child?" 

This  was  the  first  time  she  had  ever  called  her 
"  my  child." 

The  girl  told  her  frankly  all  the  matter,  not 
without  dropping  out  great  numbers  of  diamonds. 

"  Truly,"  cried  the  mother,  "  I  must  send  my 
own  dear  child  thither.  Fanny,  look  at  what 
comes  out  of  your  sister's  mouth  when  she  speaks. 
Would  you  not  be  glad,  my  dear,  to  have  the 
same  gift  ?     You  have  only  to  go  and  draw  water 


"With  All  my  Hurt,  Goodt." 
17, 


78  The  Talcs  of  Mother  Goose 

out  of  the  fountain,  and  when  a  poor  woman  asks 
you  to  let  her  drink,  to  give  it  to  her  very 
civilly." 

"  I  should  like  to  see  myself  going  to  the  foun- 
tain to  draw  water,"  said  this  ill-bred  minx. 

"  I  insist  you  shall  go,"  said  the  mother,  "  and 
that  instantly." 

She  went,  but  grumbled  all  the  way,  taking 
with  her  the  best  silver  tankard  in  the  house. 

She  no  sooner  reached  the  fountain  than  she 
saw  coming  out  of  the  wood,  a  magnificently 
dressed  lady,  who  came  up  to  her,  and  asked  to 
drink.  This  was  the  same  fairy  who  had  appeared 
to  her  sister,  but  she  had  now  taken  the  air  and 
dress  of  a  princess,  to  see  how  far  this  girl's  rude- 
ness would  go. 

"Am  I  come  hither,"  said  the  proud,  ill-bred 
girl,  "  to  serve  you  with  water,  pray  ?  I  suppose 
this  silver  tankard  was  brought  purely  for  your 
ladyship,  was  it?  However,  you  may  drink  out 
of  it,  if  you  have  a  fancy." 

"  You  are  scarcely  polite,"  answered  the  fairy, 
without  anger.  "  Well,  then,  since  you  are  so  dis- 
obliging, I  give  you  for  gift  that  at  every  word 
you  speak  there  shall  come  out  of  your  mouth  a 
snake  or  a  toad." 

So  soon  as  her  mother  saw  her  coming,  she 
cried  out :  — 

-Well  daughter?" 


The  Fairy  75 

u  Well,  mother  ? "  answered  the  unhappy  girl, 
throwing  out  of  her  mouth  a  viper  and  a  toad. 

"  Oh,  mercy !  "  cried  the  mother,  "  what  is  it  I 
see?  It  is  her  sister  who  has  caused  all  this, 
but  she  shall  pay  for  it,"  and  immediately  she 
ran  to  beat  her.  The  poor  child  fled  away  from 
her,  and  went  to  hide  herself  in  the  forest  near  by. 

The  King's  son,  who  was  returning  from  the 
chase,  met  her,  and  seeing  her  so  beautiful,  asked 
her  what  she  did  there  alone  and  why  she  cried. 

"Alas!  sir,  my  mother  has  turned  me  out  of 
doors." 

The  King's  son,  who  saw  five  or  six  pearls 
and  as  many  diamonds  come  out  of  her  mouth, 
desired  her  to  tell  him  how  that  happened.  She 
told  him  the  whole  story.  The  King's  son  fell  in 
love  with  her,  and,  considering  that  such  a  gift 
was  worth  more  than  any  marriage  portion  another 
bride  could  bring,  conducted  her  to  the  palace  of 
the  King,  his  father,  and  there  married  her. 

As  for  her  sister,  she  made  herself  so  much 
hated  that  her  own  mother  turned  her  out  of 
doors.  The  miserable  girl,  after  wandering  about 
and  finding  no  one  to  take  her  in,  went  to  a 
corner  of  the  wood,  and  there  died. 


LITTLE  RED   RIDING-HOOD 

Once  upon  a  time  there  lived  in  a  certain 
village  a  little  country  girl,  the  prettiest  creature 
that  ever  was  seen.  Her  mother  was  very  fond 
of  her,  and  her  grandmother  loved  her  still  more. 
This  good  woman  made  for  her  a  little  red  riding- 
hood,  which  became  the  girl  so  well  that  every- 
body called  her  Little  Red  Riding-hood. 

One  day  her  mother,  having  made  some  cus- 
tards, said  to  her :  — 

"  Go,  my  dear,  and  see  how  your  grandmother 
does,  for  I  hear  she  has  been  very  ill ;  carry  her 
a  custard  and  this  little  pot  of  butter." 

Little  Red  Riding-hood  set  out  immediately 
to  go  to  her  grandmother's,  who  lived  in  another 
village. 

As  she  was  going  through  the  wood,  she  met 
Gaffer  Wolf,  who  had  a  very  great  mind  to  eat 
her  up;  but  he  dared  not,  because  of  some  fagot- 
makers  hard  by  in  the  forest.  He  asked  her 
whither  she  was  going.  The  poor  child,  who 
did  not  know  that  it  was  dangerous  to  stay  and 
hear  a  wolf  talk,  said  to  him :  — 

B I  am  going  to  see  my  grandmother,  and  carry 

&> 


Little  Red   Riding-hood  81 

her  a  custard  and  a  little  pot  of  butter  from  my 
mamma." 

f  Does  she  live  far  off  ?  "  said  the  Wolf. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  answered  Little  Red  Riding-hood ; 
"it  is  beyond  that  mill  you  see  there,  the  first 
house  you  come  to  in  the  village." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Wolf,  "  and  I'll  go  and  see  her, 
too.  I'll  go  this  way,  and  you  go  that,  and  we 
shall  see  who  will  be  there  first." 

The  Wolf  began  to  run  as  fast  as  he  could, 
taking  the  shortest  way,  and  the  little  girl  went 
by  the  longest  way,  amusing  herself  by  gathering 
nuts,  running  after  butterflies,  and  making  nose- 
gays of  such  little  flowers  as  she  met  with.  The 
Wolf  was  not  long  before  he  reached  the  old 
woman's  house.  He  knocked  at  the  door  —  tap, 
tap,  tap. 

"  Who's  there  ? "  called  the  grandmother. 

"Your  grandchild,  Little  Red  Riding-hood," 
replied  the  Wolf,  imitating  her  voice,  "  who  has 
brought  a  custard  and  a  little  pot  of  butter  sent 
to  you  by  mamma." 

The  good  grandmother,  who  was  in  bed,  be- 
cause she  was  somewhat  ill,  cried  out :  — 

"  Pull  the  bobbin,  and  the  latch  will  go  up." 

The  Wolf  pulled  the  bobbin,  and  the  door 
opened.  He  fell  upon  the  good  woman  and  ate 
her  up  in  no  time,  for  he  had  not  eaten  anything 
for  more  than  three  days.      He  then  shut  the 


8l  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

door,  went  into  the  grandmother's  bed,  and  waited 
for  Little  Red  Riding-hood,  who  came  sometime 
afterward  and  knocked  at  the  door  —  tap,  tap, 
tap. 

"  Who's  there  ?  "  called  the  Wolf. 

Little  Red  Riding-hood,  hearing  the  big  voice 
of  the  Wolf,  was  at  first  afraid ;  but  thinking  her 
grandmother  had  a  cold,  answered  :  — 

"  Tis  your  grandchild,  Little  Red  Riding-hood, 
who  has  brought  you  a  custard  and  a  little  pot  of 
butter  sent  to  you  by  mamma." 

The  Wolf  cried  out  to  her,  softening  his  voice 
a  little :  — 

"  Pull  the  bobbin,  and  the  latch  will  go  up." 

Little  Red  Riding-hood  pulled  the  bobbin,  and 
the  door  opened. 

The  Wolf,  seeing  her  come  in,  said  to  her, 
hiding  himself  under  the  bedclothes :  — 

"  Put  the  custard  and  the  little  pot  of  butter 
upon  the  stool,  and  come  and  lie  down  with  me." 

Little  Red  Riding-hood  undressed  herself  and 
went  into  bed,  where  she  was  much  surprised  to 
see  how  her  grandmother  looked  in  her  night- 
clothes. 

She  said  to  her :  — 

"  Grandmamma,  what  great  arms  you  have 
got!" 

"  That  is  the  better  to  hug  thee,  my  dear." 

"  Grandmamma,  what  great  legs  you  have  got  I " 


*  H*  FILL  UPON  THE  GOOD  WOMAN." 


*3 


84  The  Tales  of  Mother  Goose 

"  That  is  to  run  the  better,  my  child." 

"  Grandmamma,  what  great  ears  you  have  got  I " 

"  That  is  to  hear  the  better,  my  child." 

"  Grandmamma,  what  great  eyes  you  have  got ! " 

"  It  is  to  see  the  better,  my  child." 

"Grandmamma,   what    great  teeth   you   have 

got  I " 

"  That  is  to  eat  thee  up." 

And,  saying  these  words,  this  wicked  Wolf  fell 

upon  Little  Red  Riding-hood,  and  ate  her  all  up. 


NOTE 

The  eight  stories  contained  in  this  volume  are  first 
found  in  print  in  French  in  a  magazine  entitled,  Receuil 
de  pikes  curieuses  et  nouvelles  tant  en  prose  qu'en  vers, 
which  was  published  by  Adrian  Moetjens  at  The  Hague 
in  1 696- 1 697.  They  were  immediately  afterward  pub- 
lished at  Paris  in  a  volume  entitled,  Histoires  ou  Contes 
du  Temps  Pass/,  avec  des  Moralites  —  Contes  de  ma  mere 
VOie. 

The  earliest  translation  into  English  has  been  found 
in  a  little  book  containing  both  the  English  and  French, 
entitled,  "  Tales  of  Passed  Times,  by  Mother  Goose. 
With  Morals.  Written  in  French  by  M.  (Charles) 
Perrault,  and  Englished  by  R.  S.  Gent." 

Who  R.  S.  was  and  when  he  made  his  translation  we 
can  only  conjecture.  Mr.  Andrew  Lang,  in  his  "  Per- 
rault's  Popular  Tales  "  (p.  xxxiv),  writes :  "  An  English 
version  translated  by  Mr.  Samber,  printed  for  J.  Pote, 
was  advertised,  Mr.  Austin  Dobson  tells  me,  in  the 
Monthly  Chronicle,  March,   1729." 

These  stories  which  may  be  said  to  be  as  old  as  the  race 
itself  —  certainly  their  germs  are  to  be  found  in  the 
oldest  literature  and  among  the  oldest  folk-tales  in  the 
world  —  were  orally  current  in  France  and  the  neighbor- 
ing countries  in  nearly  the  form  in  which  Perrault  wrote 
them  for  very  many  years ;  and  an  interesting  account 
of  the  various  forms  in  which  they  are  found  in  the 

85 


86  Note 

literature  and  folklore  of  other  nations  before  Perrault's 
time  is  given  in  Les  Contes  de  ma  tntre  VOie  avant 
Perrault,  by  Charles  Deulin,  Paris,  E.  Dentu,  1878. 

In  this  book  Mr.  Deulin  inclines  to  the  view  that  the 
stories  as  first  published  by  Perrault  were  not  really 
written  by  him,  but  by  his  little  son  of  ten  or  eleven,  to 
whom  Perrault  told  the  stories  as  he  had  gathered  them 
up  with  the  intention  of  rendering  them  in  verse  after 
the  manner  of  La  Fontaine.  The  lad  had  an  excellent 
memory,  much  natural  wit,  and  a  great  gift  of  expres- 
sion. He  loved  the  stories  his  father  told  him  and 
thoroughly  enjoyed  the  task  his  father  set  him  of 
rewriting  them  from  memory,  as  an  exercise.  This 
was  so  happily  done,  in  such  a  fresh,  artless,  and 
engaging  style,  exactly  befitting  the  subjects  of  the 
stories,  that  the  father  found  the  son's  version  better 
than  the  one  he  had  contemplated  and  gave  that  to 
the  world  instead. 

These  stories  made  their  way  slowly  in  England  at 
first,  but  in  the  end  they  nearly  eclipsed  the  native  fairy 
tales  and  legends,  which,  owing  to  Puritan  influence, 
had  been  frowned  upon  and  discouraged  until  they  were 
remembered  only  in  the  remoter  districts,  and  told  only 
by  the  few  who  had  not  come  under  its  sway.  Indeed, 
the  Puritanical  objection  to  nursery  lore  of  all  kinds 
still  lingers  in  some  corners  of  England. 

The  stories  of  Perrault  came  in  just  when  the  severer 
manifestations  of  Puritanism  were  beginning  to  decline, 
and  they  have  since  become  as  much  a  part  of  English 
fairy  lore  as  the  old  English  folk  and  fairy  tales  them- 
selves. These  latter,  thanks  to  Mr.  Joseph  Jacob, 
Mr.  Andrew  Lang,  Mr.  E.  S.  Hartland,  and  others, 


Note  87 

have  been  unearthed  and  revived,  and  prove  to  have 
lost  nothing  of  their  power  of  taking  hold  upon  the 
minds  of  the  little  folk. 

Perrault  says  of  his  collection  that  it  is  certain  these 
stories  excite  in  the  children  who  read  them  the  desire  to 
resemble  those  characters  who  become  happy,  and  at 
the  same  time  they  inspire  them  with  the  fear  of  the 
consequences  which  happen  to  those  who  do  ill  deeds ; 
and  he  claims  that  they  all  contain  a  very  distinct  moral 
which  is  more  or  less  evident  to  all  who  read  them. 

Emerson  says  :  "  What  Nature  at  one  time  provides 
for  use,  she  afterwards  turns  to  ornament,"  and  Herbert 
Spencer,  following  out  this  idea,  remarks  that  "  the  fairy 
lore,  which  in  times  past  was  matter  of  grave  belief  and 
held  sway  over  people's  conduct,  has  since  been  trans- 
formed into  ornament  for  The  Midsummer  Nighfs 
Dream,  The  Tempest,  The  Fairy  Queen,  and  endless 
small  tales  and  poems ;  and  still  affords  subjects  for 
children's  story  books,  amuses  boys  and  girls,  and  be- 
comes matter  for  jocose  allusion." 

Thus,  also,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  a  note  to  "  The  Lady 
of  the  Lake,"  says :  "  The  mythology  of  one  period 
would  appear  to  pass  into  the  romance  of  the  next, 
and  that  into  the  nursery  tales  of  subsequent  ages," 
and  Max  Miiller,  in  his  "  Chips  from  a  German  Work- 
shop," says :  "  The  gods  of  ancient  mythology  were 
changed  into  the  demigods  and  heroes  of  ancient  epic 
poetry,  and  these  demigods  again  became  at  a  later  age 
the  principal  characters  of  our  nursery  tales." 

These  thoughts  may  help  to  a  better  understanding  of 
some  of  the  uses  of  such  stories  and  of  their  proper  place 
in  children's  reading.  C.  W. 


